CHICAGO — Illinois is now one of the first Midwest states to provide over-the-counter birth control.
Governor JB Pritzker signed the "Barriers to Care" bill into law today.
Starting in January, pharmacists will use a screening test to give 12-month prescriptions directly to women. The bill also expands Medicaid to cover over-the-counter birth control costs for plans that cover doctor-prescribed birth control.
“This legislation that I’m signing into law today makes Illinois one of the first states in the Midwest to provide birth control over the counter, making contraceptives all the more accessible and affordable in our state,” Gov. Pritzker said in a press release. “In 2019, when I signed the Reproductive Health Act into law, I said that in Illinois we guarantee as a fundamental right, a woman’s right to choose. Today, we take yet another stand to fulfill that promise.”
Tennessee is the only other state in the Midwest to provide over-the-counter birth control.
HB 0135 is effective January 1, 2022. Provisions affecting the Insurance Code are effective January 1, 2023.