In this age of legal attacks on birth control access and shifting Medicaid coverage, a new online resource has emerged to educate people about the birth control methods available to them—and provide them for no fee.
The website FreeBC now offers comprehensive information about every effective birth control method, from pills, patches and rings to IUDs and implants. After exploring their options, users can then schedule a telehealth appointment with a healthcare professional. After a patient decides which form of birth control they want to start with, FreeBC will either send it in the mail in discreet packaging or help the patient find a nearby clinic if needed for a method like IUD insertion.
FreeBC is currently available only in Colorado, with plans to expand soon to patients in additional states.
As the name suggests, FreeBC offers all of these services at no cost whatsoever to patients, making it an incredible resource at a time when medical care for many Americans is becoming harder and harder to access on multiple levels. FreeBC is available to patients who are either uninsured or facing high co-pays for birth control. The website does ask for insurance information if a patient has it available in order to stretch FreeBC’s resources even further, but having insurance is not a requirement to use FreeBC’s services.
Anyone in Colorado–and soon other states–can use FreeBC regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. FreeBC asks for no identifying information other than a selfie and additional form of ID with a photo, name and birthdate to verify each patient’s age. The only requirement to schedule a telehealth appointment or receive birth control through the mail or at a clinic is that the patient is 18 or older, but FreeBC’s educational materials are available online for people of all ages to access.
The video gallery on the website includes dozens of short videos exploring the various birth control options. The resources are currently available in English and Spanish, with additional languages expected to be added.
Accessible information about contraception is particularly important as comprehensive sex education faces growing political challenges across the country. The Trump administration has moved to reshape federal teen pregnancy prevention programs around anatomy, reproduction, and parenthood rather than comprehensive sexual health education. FreeBC is making a difference simply by offering reliable, accessible information for people seeking to understand their reproductive health and contraceptive options.
FreeBC is an initiative of the nonprofit organization Upstream USA. While FreeBC is not a medical provider in and of itself, it works by partnering with telehealth companies and brick-and-mortar clinics in the states where FreeBC is available so patients can access birth control at no cost.
More information about FreeBC’s services and contraception in general is available on FreeBC’s website. FreeBC also has a short video with more information about the services offered.