Insurance Coverage of OTC Oral Contraceptives: Lessons from the Field

KFF staff identified states and a wide range of stakeholders that are involved in aspects of the decision-making, implementation, and oversight of coverage of OTC contraceptive methods. States were selected based on whether they had implemented insurance coverage of OTC contraception without a prescription and/or expanded the scope of pharmacist practice.

To inform interviews with Medicaid officials, KFF contracted with Health Management Associates (HMA) to assist in identifying key officials from state Medicaid programs and facilitating contact with them. HMA also provided feedback on interview guides and this analysis written by KFF, and provided clarification and guidance regarding pharmacy industry policies, processes, and terminology.

Potential interviewees were contacted by KFF or HMA via email. Follow-up emails were sent to those who did not respond. KFF consulted with several experts in the fields of pharmacy and policy to develop interview guides, which were tailored to the type of industry/agency and provided to interviewees prior to the interviews. Interviews were conducted virtually (except one that was completed in writing) by the KFF research team and lasted 30 to 60 minutes. Some interviews had multiple representatives from one agency, company, or organization, while others had a single interviewee. Interviewees representing smaller private industries and organizations were offered a $200 gift card incentive to participate.

Interviewees were asked to review the draft report and provide their feedback prior to publication, which most did.

To ensure interviewee confidentiality, interviewees were instructed that they would not be personally recognized unless given express consent. For this reason, neither interviewee names nor affiliations are included in this report.