Digital-first women’s primary care telehealth provider and direct-to-consumer pharmacy operating in 48 states and Washington, D.C.

CEO
Liz Meyerdirk
Founded
2014

Problem Tech Solves

The Pill Club is helping women prioritize their wellness by increasing access to an essential form of healthcare: contraception. We're the best option for women who want to educate themselves about, and take ownership of, their reproductive and sexual health. Millions of American women go to their doctors annually to receive a new prescription for a medication they’ve been on for years, if not decades. It’s not because they want to—they have to—and, for others, because they don’t realize they have another option. These women—often navigating multiple jobs and caregiving responsibilities—wait in line every month at a pharmacy to get a limited supply of their medication, just 30 days at a time. Our mission has become even more relevant as women navigated the growing physical and economic barriers brought about by the pandemic. A recent KFF survey revealed that nearly one in ten women between 18 and 25 delayed or could not get birth control due to the pandemic. Moreover, according to a 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute, women—particularly black women—are more likely to have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and, with it, their work-related health insurance and access to affordable contraception. We launched six years ago to address these issues and make women’s lives easier by delivering on-demand healthcare for their everyday needs. We’re focused on solving a healthcare system that is fractured and inaccessible. And it’s even more the case for women, particularly those who face budget and geographical constraints on healthcare.

Tech Brief

The Pill Club owns the entire patient experience, from helping members understand their insurance plans, to prescribing birth control, to dispensing and delivering for free. We also have more flexibility with birth control options and preferences (we have more than 140 types) and are able to have greater coverage around the country. From an operations perspective, having our own pharmacy enables us to be more nimble because we can quickly adapt to unexpected market changes (like when we saw an uptick from COVID), implement new processes, or pilot new products. We currently provide video visits in 11 states where state regulations require to operate telehealth. Our services are accessible to the highest number of women across the country, accepting cash, commercial payers and Medicaid in many states. To sign up, members simply complete a brief online questionnaire about their medical history. From there, one of our licensed medical providers will reach out to assess their needs before prescribing the birth control best suited for them if the member in question is medically eligible. Members can easily contact our licensed medical team via phone or text message with questions or concerns. The process from sign up to delivery takes place in a few days. In terms of price, there’s no consultation fee for new users covered by insurance. For those without insurance, first time members pay a $15 consultation fee. The Pill Club offers affordable cash options, with some yearly prescriptions coming in as low as $9 / month.

Tech Differentiators

Unlike other direct-to-consumer telemedicine services, The Pill Club has always been focused on women’s health. Women’s health isn’t niche: it’s half the population and inherently has more stages that need support. Historically it's also been highly stigmatized, with menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, menopause and many more areas being treated with taboo. We're committed to normalizing women’s health that should’ve been normal from the start. We've also gone a step further by adding a sensible dose of delight in the process, with added goodies and sweet treats in every birth control delivery as well as personalized care. This allowed us to start changing the tone of the conversations around women’s health issues: our members have reported that they finally look forward to dealing with their reproductive health “It’s like getting a present. It brings joy to me during the pandemic and makes me feel like someone out there really cares.” Another focus from Day One: having the best insurance and Medicaid coverage possible to truly make healthcare more affordable for women across the country. We believe that you’re only truly innovating in healthcare if your platform exists within the realities of the system. Most people can’t afford to pay out of pocket for services, and that’s why we’ve embraced working with payers and pharmacy benefit managers to reach as many women as possible. As a result, we have the broadest coverage of customers in this space and a huge level of differentiation is our provider-first focus and our continuity of care.

Validation

43% of our surveyed members reported that if they lost access to The Pill Club, it would be difficult for them to stay on birth control. Over 80% of our member base reported that they learned more about their reproductive health because of The Pill Club. 70% of our members have been able to save time with our service, specifically not having to physically go to the doctor's office or the pharmacy to pick up their birth control. 38% of our members report that they have family or job obligations that prevent or limit them from physically going to a clinic (or other facility) to get their birth control medication, making The Pill Club a key resource to accessing their monthly contraceptive needs. Birth control, like much of women’s health, is still highly stigmatized. We’ve been able to bring awareness to this historically taboo topic and help normalize it, specifically attracting an audience of over 20 million people via social media to learn more about the positive impact of contraception as well as the existing obstacles that we still need to overcome before we achieve equal access to contraception.

Why Us

Expanding access to healthcare is a commonsense solution. As we move into a post-pandemic world, where women have borne the disproportionate cost of economic and job dislocation, virtual care should should be the norm—for all of women’s healthcare—not reserved for states of emergency. We’re building that reality today.

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