[LostLocalMan]

Yes there is a lot of gatekeeping happening across the board. From my wife's experience living just outside of Portland Oregon:

- Prescription has been cancelled twice for no real reason.

- Pharmacists have refused to give more than one month at a time more than once.

- Even if everyone is on board and not hostile she's only able to get a few months at a time so she has to do this multiple times a year.

I can't imagine how it'd be if we lived in a more conservative state or in a more rural area.

[giantg2]

I've had some prescription issue for other meds as well. Usually an issue of the insurance or pharmacy, not a political motive. They don't like to give long term supplies given the expiration is 1 year from manufacture.

[LostLocalMan]

At least once she's been lectured about starting a family by pharmacists when trying to pick up her prescription which caused us to switch to a different pharmacy.

It's possible it's all imagined, but I don't really understand why a pharmacist would only give one month when the prescription is for multiple months, or why the prescription can't be for longer as to require less doctors visits / bills. We certainly haven't had the same experience picking up other prescriptions.

[giraffe_lady]

Your original question was whether there were barriers. Now you're clarifying you mean political barriers determined by the intent of the provider, which is of course opaque to us. Is it possible under these constraints to describe a barrier you'll accept?

[dboreham]

The one month at a time thing is coming from insurance companies not the pharmacy.

[hombre_fatal]

Not necessarily. Pharmacies have arbitrary power.

My doctor gives me a three month prescription for a scheduled substance and I've had a couple pharmacies reject it because it's "sketchy". Of course, they never offer to call my doctor to confirm anything. They just smirk and cross their arms.

[hombre_fatal]

Well, yes, that's the point. They don't want kids at this time, though.

Stopping contraceptives when you want kids isn't a eureka moment for most couples.