Doctors back bills to make it cheaper to obtain birth control in Michigan
The ‘Freedom to Plan’ bill package has garnered support from members of Michigan’s medical community.

Bills introduced by Michigan Senate Democrats to improve access to contraceptives have received resounding support from pro-abortion rights advocates and members of Michigan’s medical community.
The legislation, dubbed the “Freedom to Plan” package, would require insurers and Medicaid to cover over-the-counter nonprescription contraceptives and the placement of long-acting reversible contraceptives such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants as part of postpartum care.
“Everyone deserves the freedom to access the reproductive health care they need so they can protect their health, plan their families, and pursue their dreams,” Dr. Sarah Wallett, the chief medical operating officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said in a statement. “Contraception is a core component of people’s overall health care, and I applaud our legislative leaders for their work to expand equitable access to reproductive health care for my patients and all Michiganders.”
The Senate Health Policy Committee heard testimony and collected cards supporting the bills on Sept. 26 from over a dozen medical experts and reproductive rights advocates.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter, nonprescription oral contraceptive last year, but federal law only mandates that most health insurance plans cover prescription contraceptives. Senate Bills 973 and 974 would fill this gap by requiring Michigan Medicaid and private insurers to provide coverage for oral and emergency contraceptives with or without a prescription, effectively allowing consumers to pick up their birth control at their local pharmacy without having to get a doctor to sign off on it first.
In a letter to the committee, Amy Zaagman, the executive director of the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, said that the legislation’s provisions would specifically help Michiganders from low-income, rural, and urban communities obtain their birth control method of choice. Studies have shown that women in these areas are often medically underserved due to a shortage of providers in their neighborhoods and because they have difficulty traveling long distances to a doctor’s office for their prescriptions.
“About 1 in 3 birth control users say they’ve missed taking their pill — which renders their medication less effective — because they couldn’t access their next prescription, and about 1 in 4 people using contraceptives report they aren’t using their preferred method because of one or multiple barriers,” Zaagman wrote.
Similar financial constraints may prevent college students from obtaining contraceptives, according to Julia Walters, a Michigan State University law student who co-founded the organization, East Lansing Free Emergency Contraceptives, in 2023. She said the legislation would be crucial for students who have difficulty affording emergency contraception.
“The average cost of an over-the-counter emergency contraceptive in Michigan ranges from $50 to $65. Fifty dollars could be someone’s utility payment for the month, it could be their weekly grocery budget, and this high fee is burdensome for many Michiganders,” Walters said in her own letter to the committee.
Senate Bills 987, 988 and 1006, the other bills in the package, would increase access to contraceptive implants like IUDs immediately after a person gives birth. While Michigan Medicaid covers this postpartum service, there’s no state mandate requiring it, and insurers aren’t obligated to include it in their labor and delivery coverage plans, meaning patients may have to pay out-of-pocket costs.
The Senate bills would require Medicaid and private insurers to cover the placement of IUDs immediately following labor and accompanying anesthesia services and require hospitals to stock IUDs. A Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the legislation notes that such contraceptives can help decrease the likelihood of unintended short-interval pregnancies within 18 months after a previous delivery. Short-interval pregnancies can lead to adverse outcomes for the mother and the baby, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia.
Few groups, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, have opposed bills within the Senate package. As of mid-October, the details of the bills were still being ironed out in committee.
Since Michigan repealed its almost century-old abortion ban last year, Democrats have taken additional steps to make reproductive care attainable for residents: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the Reproductive Health Act, which removed laws from the books that specifically target abortion care facilities, and the Michigan Family Protection Act, which decriminalized paid surrogacy contracts in the state.