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Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

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31–40 of 45 posts

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#31
post #14

> If you're a woman living in the United States, you already know that getting your hands on birth control can be a complex and expensive process. I'm not a woman nor in the US, so this was news to me. It's really easy and cheap here in NZ, so it surprised me that this is still a problem in any developed nations. Can anyone add more background on what the difficulties are in the US?

Up until recently, it wasn't guaranteed to be covered under your health insurance. The ACA — "Obamacare" — required plans to cover many options, but it's not guaranteed that your preferred option(s) will available. Generally, coverage is supposed to be free, but again, only certain options may be free (generics only, for example) and some may require a significant copay (IUDs, I believe). For the birth control pill,…

On the other hand, you can walk into a Walgreens and get "Plan B" over the counter (without a prescription). Some parts of the US don't do as good a job at stocking it, but in a place like the Bay Area, it's a piece of cake.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#32
post #2

Immorality and premarital sex are ripe for disruption!

You're a little late. I think the disruption you're thinking of happened in the 1960's.

Maybe in San Fransisco. For billions of people around the world it did not.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#33
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Up until recently, it wasn't guaranteed to be covered under your health insurance. The ACA — "Obamacare" — required plans to cover many options, but it's not guaranteed that your preferred option(s) will available. Generally, coverage is supposed to be free, but again, only certain options may be free (generics only, for example) and some may require a significant copay (IUDs, I believe). For the birth control pill,…

On the other hand, you can walk into a Walgreens and get "Plan B" over the counter (without a prescription). Some parts of the US don't do as good a job at stocking it, but in a place like the Bay Area, it's a piece of cake.

Plan B is to be taken as an emergency contraceptive; it is should not be used as a normal, routine method of birth control.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#34
post #14

> If you're a woman living in the United States, you already know that getting your hands on birth control can be a complex and expensive process. I'm not a woman nor in the US, so this was news to me. It's really easy and cheap here in NZ, so it surprised me that this is still a problem in any developed nations. Can anyone add more background on what the difficulties are in the US?

Up until recently, it wasn't guaranteed to be covered under your health insurance. The ACA — "Obamacare" — required plans to cover many options, but it's not guaranteed that your preferred option(s) will available. Generally, coverage is supposed to be free, but again, only certain options may be free (generics only, for example) and some may require a significant copay (IUDs, I believe). For the birth control pill,…

or the birth control pill, you still A. need a prescription (which usually means you need to occasionally make an appointment, take off work, and see a doctor, probably not for free), and B. need that prescription to be filled.

So it sounds as complicated as getting any other prescription drug? I don't see huge barriers here.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#35
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey @WestOfRome we prescribe AND deliver. One stop shop for birth control and Truvada for PrEP. Our friends at lemonaid get you a 3month prescription for a cash. We get you a 13month prescription for free.

Hey @Edvard, Truvada needs a prescription. Are you licensed to receive a prescription from the doctor?

Doctors prescribe both Truvada and Birth control on our platform :) There is no automated system dispensing drugs. A licensed physician reviews each request.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#36

It's too bad that this doesn't seem to be viable in the 3rd world (yet). It's needed there far more than here. (Not that this service isn't useful here.)

please stop referring to it as the 3rd World.This classification is outdated(colonialism ended centuries ago), insulting and condescending(trust me no one wants to be reminded every day how poor and miserable they are, even if it was true). Here are a few alternatives for you: * Developing World ( still patronizing, but a better alternative) * Majority World ( yea, actually the US and Western Europe are just a small…

The classification is not outdated, and did not originate with colonialism.

Being in the "third world" simply means your country elected to not join NATO or the Warsaw Pact, and as a result did not receive the economic stimulus of the Cold War buildup.

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#37
Doesn't it seem like these specialized delivery services will kind of get trampled when self driving cars become commonplace? I feel like there will be 1-2 big delivery companies (Google + whoever else figures out self driving cars) and then companies like Postmates, Doordash, etc will go out of business. Or maybe Google will provide them with the infrastructure to actually have profitable business.

The doctor on staff providing prescriptions definitely increases the barrier to entry, but I don't think it is something that will hold up in the long run.

Disclaimer: I'm not a woman, so my perspective could be (read: probably is) complete bullshit

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#38
post #37

Doesn't it seem like these specialized delivery services will kind of get trampled when self driving cars become commonplace? I feel like there will be 1-2 big delivery companies (Google + whoever else figures out self driving cars) and then companies like Postmates, Doordash, etc will go out of business. Or maybe Google will provide them with the infrastructure to actually have profitable business. The doctor on sta…

You're describing the process of actually delivering - that's currently UPS/FedEx, etc. They will certainly struggle with Amazon in the near future (and maybe Google). Shipping will always be owned by the big guys because it's a tough, expensive problem.

But ecommerce? That will always be open to smaller players because the start-up cost is low (you develop a way to sell it and give it to a shipping service).

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#39
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey @WestOfRome we prescribe AND deliver. One stop shop for birth control and Truvada for PrEP. Our friends at lemonaid get you a 3month prescription for a cash. We get you a 13month prescription for free.

Hey @Edvard, Truvada needs a prescription. Are you licensed to receive a prescription from the doctor?

Why do you do @handle when replying here? Don't we have threads for that?

Re: Nurx (YC W16) Will Deliver Prescription Medication to Your Door for Free

#40
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, you can walk into a Walgreens and get "Plan B" over the counter (without a prescription). Some parts of the US don't do as good a job at stocking it, but in a place like the Bay Area, it's a piece of cake.

Plan B is to be taken as an emergency contraceptive; it is should not be used as a normal, routine method of birth control.

Given how unpleasant the experience is I doubt any woman would choose plan B as a routine contraceptive.
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