Category: Access to Medicines in Vulnerable Populations

Independent pharmacies know their communities. But many are struggling to stay open

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By Nada Hassanein for Stateline on January 17, 2025 Independent drugstores are closing at an alarming rate — about one a day in 2023 — squeezed by the huge companies that reimburse pharmacies for costly medications. But with each closure, a community loses more than another place where they can buy medicine. Experts say independent…Continue Reading Independent pharmacies know their communities. But many are struggling to stay open

Birth control doesn’t cause abortions – but that misconception is blocking access

Birth control doesn’t cause abortions – but that misconception is blocking access Published on 10/22/2024 by Elizabeth Weise in USA Today Birth control remains legal in all 50 states and can be purchased over the counter with no age limit. But lawmakers in at least seven states have attempted to cut off funding or scuttle…Continue Reading Birth control doesn’t cause abortions – but that misconception is blocking access

Post-Roe, States With Abortion Bans Saw Steep Declines in Birth Control Prescriptions

Post-Roe, States With Abortion Bans Saw Steep Declines in Birth Control Prescriptions Published on 9/26/2024 by Carrie N. Baker in Ms. The June 2022 Supreme Court decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion was followed by steep declines in prescriptions for birth control pills and emergency contraception in states where abortion is banned. This finding…Continue Reading Post-Roe, States With Abortion Bans Saw Steep Declines in Birth Control Prescriptions

Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change

Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change Published on 8.14.2024 by Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Reason Between August 2022 and October 2023, the number of people filling emergency contraception prescriptions in Massachusetts spiked. Was the state experiencing an epidemic of unprotected sex? Probably not. Researchers attribute the increase to the state making it…Continue Reading Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change

Women have become less likely to get birth control in states that restricted abortion, study finds

Published Wed June 26, 2024 – By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Women have become less likely to get birth control in states that restricted abortion, study finds Women in states with the most restrictive abortion laws have also become less likely to access prescription birth control, a new study suggests. In a dozen states that have enacted…Continue Reading Women have become less likely to get birth control in states that restricted abortion, study finds

Walgreens’ closing triggers fears of ‘pharmacy desert’

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Published February 14th, 2024 – By Avery Bleichfeld, The Bay State Banner Walgreens’ closing triggers fears of ‘pharmacy desert’ – Seniors feeling effects of latest shutdown in Roxbury Since November 2022, four Walgreens have closed in Boston, all in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods. One was in Mattapan, one in Hyde Park and two in…Continue Reading Walgreens’ closing triggers fears of ‘pharmacy desert’

Pregnant people can get a shot to protect babies from RSV, but some hit hurdles

Posted On DEC. 13, 2023 3 AM PT, By Emily Alpert Reyes, L.A. Times Pregnant people can get a shot to protect babies from RSV, but some hit hurdles (…) The shots have been hailed as a game changer for RSV, an illness that crowds pediatric wards in fall and winter and causes tens of…Continue Reading Pregnant people can get a shot to protect babies from RSV, but some hit hurdles

Pharmacy Deserts Put The Health of Undeserved Communities at Risk

Posted on November 15, 2023, Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity A conversation with Dr. Qato Most of us may not think twice about the ease with which we can get a prescription filled. But for many Americans, particularly people of color, pharmacy access is becoming an increasingly dire problem, especially in low-income and underserved communities….Continue Reading Pharmacy Deserts Put The Health of Undeserved Communities at Risk

How pharmacy deserts are putting the health of Black and Latino Americans at risk

Published on Nov. 10, 2023, By Anika Nayak, STAT How pharmacy deserts are putting the health of Black and Latino Americans at risk As pharmacies shutter stores across the U.S., people in low-income and predominantly Black, Latino, and Indigenous neighborhoods are increasingly left in pharmacy deserts, without easy access to medications and other essentials. In…Continue Reading How pharmacy deserts are putting the health of Black and Latino Americans at risk