pharmacare expands in british columbia: here's what is covered now
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hundreds of thousands of b.c. residents will now be fully covered for the high cost of diabetes medications and menopausal therapies as part of an expansion of pharmacare.
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b.c. signed an agreement with the federal government a year ago to join the national pharmacare program, providing coverage for most prescription drugs. on march 1, the program was expanded to include most diabetes drugs and treatments, and coverage for menopausal therapies.
here’s what you need to know about pharmacare in b.c.:
what is covered
under the federal-provincial agreement signed on march 6, 2025, pharmacare covers most prescription drugs, with the amount depending on how much you make. b.c. has also provided many contraceptives for free since 2023.
starting on march 1 of this year, the plan is adding diabetes and menopausal medications, and these expensive therapies are covered in full, regardless of income levels. eligible medications for diabetes, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes, are 100 per cent covered, as are contraceptives and hormonal therapies for menopause.
diabetes canada estimates it costs up to $18,300 a year for type 1 and up to $10,000 per year for type 2. menopause hormone therapies like estrogen pills, patches and gels can cost $240 to $1,800 a year without insurance. the expanded coverage is automatic; no enrolment is needed.
who is covered
the new coverage will help an estimated 570,000 in b.c. living with diabetes and about 160,000 in need of menopause therapy.
for all other prescription drugs, the amount paid by the pharmacare program is indexed based on how much you and your family make. for instance, if your family income is $50,000, the plan kicks in once you’ve spent $1,500 on prescriptions. it would pay 70 per cent of drug costs up to $2,000, then 100 per cent if you spend more than $2,000 in a year.
deductible limits continue to rise as family income goes up. so if you make $100,000, you have to pay $3,000 in prescriptions before pharmacare kicks in, and $4,000 before they’re fully covered by the plan.
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the list of things covered by b.c.’s pharmacare program is at gov.bc.ca.
to register online, go to my.gov.bc.ca or call 1-800-663-7100.
how it works
the covered diabetes medications include insulin, metformin, sulfonylureas, such as glyburide and gliclazide, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, saxagliptin, linagliptin and pioglitazone. some meds need special approval. the full list can be found at gov.bc.ca.
it should be noted that semaglutides like ozempic—which is also used by many for weight loss—are only covered under “special authority” if your doctor prescribes it specifically for diabetes treatment because other therapies are ineffective. b.c. has approved wegovy for weight management under pharmacare, but it isn’t fully covered as with diabetes medications.
b.c. residents enrolled in the medical services plan (msp) only need to bring their prescriptions to the pharmacy counter along with their b.c. services card — often combined with a driver’s licence. the pharmacist cannot charge for covered diabetes meds or dispensing fees.
starting on april 1, some diabetes-related devices and supplies will also be covered.
the same is true for menopausal therapies such as oral micronized progesterone, vaginal estrogen, topical estrogen and estrogen/progesterone in gels or patches, oral estradiol, oral conjugated estrogen and oral medroxyprogesterone. the full list of menopausal therapies covered is at gov.bc.ca.
some of these therapies were previously covered under b.c. pharmacare but there were deductibles and income thresholds. those no longer apply.
find more general information about the national pharmacare program, b.c. pharmacare and what free contraceptives are available, go to the b.c. government website.
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this article was originally published in the vancouver sun on march 1, 2026.
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