Lemonaid Health, a 23andMe-owned telehealth platform, will offer access to prescriptions for ella®, an emergency contraceptive. ella® has shown to be effective at preventing pregnancy when taken within 5 days (120 hours) of unprotected sex. It is not used to end or terminate a pregnancy.
This will add to Lemonaid Health’s offerings for reproductive health care services, which include prescriptions for birth control. Access to information about one’s health and access to healthcare are at the core of both 23andMe and Lemonaid Health. Indeed, in its earliest iteration, Lemonaid Health started in the United States by offering direct access to birth control.
The decision to add prescriptions for ella® comes as access to important family planning options in the United States is being restricted. Although 23andMe and Lemonaid Health have been considering adding new options for family planning for some time, the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade brings additional urgency for expanding access to reproductive health care services.
ella® is an emergency contraception medication and should not be confused with medical or medicated abortion, which involves two drugs — mifepristone and misoprostol — taken to end a pregnancy.
(You can find more information about ella® by visiting: https://www.ella-now.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-taking-ella/.)
Patients in all 50 states and DC are currently eligible for this service through Lemonaid Health’s online doctor’s office and mail-order pharmacy after completing a consultation with a Lemonaid Health doctor or nurse practitioner. The total cost will be $75, which includes the consultation, and if appropriate, medication, and expedited shipping costs.
An eligible patient can be prescribed one pill with a two pill refill; customers who have been prescribed ella® can return for subsequent prescriptions. The medication will be shipped the next business day via expedited mail.
Find out more here.