Pharmacare now free for low-income families

No deductibles for households under $30,000

B.C. has eliminated Pharmacare deductibles for families earning less than $30,000 and reduced deductibles for families earning between $30,000 and $45,000.

Low-income seniors and other individuals will see copayments eliminated, meaning their prescriptions will be fully rather than partly paid by the plan, if they qualify, provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

Before the new rules kicked in Jan. 1, families that qualified for Pharmacare would have to pay some of their prescription costs out of pocket before receiving coverage.

A family with an annual income of just $11,250 would have paid $200 before Pharmacare would begin to pay. Households with a net annual income between $15,000 and $30,000 were paying $300 to $600 out-of-pocket before coverage assistance began.

Ministry data show that people in income bands affected by the deductibles were skipping their prescriptions, possibly to pay for other living expenses, Dix said.

“No one should have to make the difficult decision between their family’s health and putting food on the table,” Dix said. “We know that for many working households, needed prescriptions were going unfilled too often because Pharmacare deductibles were too high.”

A 2018 study found that one million Canadians reduced spending on food to pay for prescription drugs and that nearly two million Canadians reported not being able to afford medication, which led to increased hospital admissions, according to the Health Canada.

A 2014 study by the Institute for Research on Public Policy found that B.C. seniors were particularly poorly served by income-based Pharmacare coverage. B.C. switched from age-based coverage in 2003 to contain rising program costs.

Faced with paying the full price of prescriptions up to the minimum threshold of $1,000, B.C. seniors have been less likely to fill prescriptions, said lead author Steve Morgan, director of the Centre for Heath Services and Policy Research at the University of B.C.

Several Canadian studies have found that British Columbians were twice as likely to report skipping medications for financial reasons (7.1 per cent, according to one study) compared seniors in Ontario, where their drug costs are minimal.

The changes announced Friday will eliminate deductibles and copayments for 240,000 households, Dix said. Co-payments have also been eliminated for seniors born before 1940 earning a household net annual income up to $14,000.

Drug costs for people on disability pensions and income assistance will continue to be fully insured with no deductibles.

The provincial government has budgeted $105 million over three years to pay for coverage improvements.

“We have implemented major changes to assist particularly low-income families, particularly low-income seniors in paying for the cost of prescription drugs,” said Dix.