On March 1, 2026, coverage under National Pharmacare will finally begin in BC! We say “finally” because while the Pharmacare Act (Bill C-64) passed federally in 2024, it has taken time for negotiations to be completed and for pharmacies to be advised which medications will be covered under this agreement, whether coverage might still be based on income, and whether there may still be limitations for specific medications. Let’s look at this exciting expansion of Pharmacare coverage in a bit more detail.
How does it work?
Under this plan, many essential medications will be covered at no cost for BC residents enrolled in the Medical Services Plan (MSP) of BC. When we process these specific prescription medications, the entire cost will be covered automatically by Pharmacare, so there will be no remaining cost to pass along to you or a third-party insurance plan (e.g., Pacific Blue Cross).
Are all medications included?
No, but what is now 100% covered, regardless of any income-based deductible, has been expanded to include many hormone replacement options for menopause, as well as essential diabetes medications. There are too many medications to list here, but below are some examples of the more common ones that will be fully covered.
Diabetes medications
- Short-acting insulins (e.g., Humulin R, Novolin ge Toronto)
- Fast-acting insulins (e.g., Admelog, Apidra, Trurapi)
- Intermediate-acting insulins (e.g., Humulin N, Novolin ge NPH)
- Regular/intermediate-acting insulins (e.g., Humulin 30/70)
- Long-acting insulins (e.g., Basaglar)
- Oral medications (e.g., metformin, glyburide, gliclazide, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, saxagliptin, linagliptin, pioglitazone)
We are excited to see how this list will be further expanded to include diabetes devices and supplies as of April 1, 2026.
Menopause medications
- Oral progesterone
- Vaginal estrogen (e.g., Premarin, Imvexxy)
- Estrogen and estrogen/progesterone gels and patches (e.g., Estrogel, Climara, Sandoz-Estradiol, Estalis)
- Oral estradiol (e.g., Lupin-Estradiol)
- Oral conjugated estrogen (e.g., Premarin)
- Oral medroxyprogesterone (e.g., AA-Medroxy)
What if you’re taking medications for diabetes or menopause that are not listed here?
Several medications still require “special authority” approval to qualify for full coverage. However, it’s notable that this requirement has been removed for gliclazide, empagliflozin, empagliflozin/metformin, and insulin glargine.
Some brand name drugs will only be partially covered, up to the cost of the fully covered generic options. For example, Sandoz-Estradiol 50 patches are fully covered, but Estradot 50 patches will be covered only up to the cost of the generic Sandoz-Estradiol 50 patches. You will have the option to use the brand name product and pay the cost difference yourself.
Other medications already covered
Medications and supplies that are already part of BC PharmaCare — including many prescription drugs, devices, and pharmacy services — remain covered under the existing BC PharmaCare programs. That’s not changing. It’s only some medications for diabetes and menopause that are moving to the national program coverage. As an example, Ozempic is not considered to be an “essential” diabetes medication. Nevertheless, if you are taking Ozempic and have coverage through BC PharmaCare, that will not change.
Want to know more?
Visit the National Pharmacare in BC web page to read about updates as they occur. Once this program comes into effect on March 1, we hope to have more information and will be better able to answer questions about coverage.
If you want help understanding how this change affects your specific prescriptions or coverage plan, please come in and chat with us!