AccessBC Celebrates BC Signing of Pharmacare Agreement

Press Release - March 6, 2025

Reproductive justice advocates from the AccessBC Campaign Canada are celebrating today’s announcement that British Columbia has signed a pharmacare agreement with the federal government.

On the morning of March 6th, federal Minister of Health Mark Holland and the provincial Minister of Health Josie Osborne announced the signing of a pharmacare agreement between their respective governments. The agreement will see Canada committing $670 million over four years to provide universal coverage to a range of prescription contraceptives, diabetes medications, devices and supplies, and menopause hormone therapy (MHT) – also known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – in British Columbia. While BC has had universal no-cost prescription contraception since April 2023, coverage for the other medications will begin in March 2026.

“This agreement is a victory for equitable health care in BC. Free prescription contraception has already changed lives in BC, and this step moves us closer to a future where no one in Canada is denied essential medication due to cost,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Chair and co-founder of AccessBC, the grassroots campaign that successfully advocated for free prescription contraception coverage in BC. “The AccessBC Campaign is celebrating this important milestone and urges continued progress toward a fully comprehensive and universal national pharmacare plan.”

On October 10, 2024Canada passed Bill C-64, an Act respecting pharmacare. The Act commits to funding universal, single-payer, first-dollar coverage for critical contraception and diabetes medications. Provinces must sign bilateral implementing agreements with the federal government before that funding comes into effect. On February 27th, 2025, Manitoba became the first province to sign an agreement with the federal government. Previously, British Columbia signed a memorandum of understanding committing to negotiations to implement the Pharmacare Act on September 12, 2024.

"As an OBGYN resident physician and former pharmacist, I welcome this agreement as a significant step toward ensuring universal access to essential medications in British Columbia. Removing cost barriers to prescription drugs, including contraceptives, diabetes medications, and menopausal hormone therapy, is critical to improving health equity and patient outcomes,” said Dr. Ruth Habte, AccessBC Campaign Organizer and Obstetrics and Gynecology Resident Physician. “Enhancing pharmacare will allow more individuals to access the medications they need without financial hardship, reinforcing the importance of universal, no-cost coverage for all Canadians."

“Right now, Canada is the only high-income country with universal healthcare but without universal prescription drug coverage. Hopefully the implementation of this pharmacare agreement in BC helps change that,” said Devon Black, co-founder and national liaison for AccessBC. “This agreement means that people across the province will soon be able to access life-saving and life-changing medication without worrying about cost.”

“As the first province to implement universal no-cost prescription contraception, we hope that BC can serve as a model for other provinces as they negotiate their own agreements,”said Sophie Choong, AccessBC Marketing Director. “We’re calling on every province to move on this issue with the knowledge that the quicker these agreements are signed, the more Canadians will be able to make their own decisions about their bodies and reproductive health.”

“Minister Holland, from the Government of Canada press release:

"This national pharmacare agreement with BC is a significant milestone in building a stronger public healthcare system for Canadians. The additional coverage improvement of hormone replacement therapy for people experiencing menopausal symptoms is significant in supporting women's health. This agreement is another important step to making sure that every Canadian can get the medications they need. We will keep working with all provinces and territories to sign more deals so that across the country, Canadians are covered."

Minister Osborne, from the Government of Canada press release:

"We are committed to making essential healthcare more accessible – whether it's managing menopause, preventing unintended pregnancies, or controlling chronic diabetes. B.C. was the first province in Canada to provide free contraception, and now we are working to expand public coverage to include free medication for diabetes and menopausal symptoms. Today's agreement is an important step towards strengthening BC's universal, public healthcare system in the long-term – one where everyone can get the essential medications they need without having to pull out their credit card."

Background

The cost of prescription contraception can be significant, and often falls disproportionately on women and people who can become pregnant. When paid for out-of-pocket, a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) can cost as much as $500, an implant as much as $350, oral contraceptive pills cost at least $240 per year, and hormone injections as much as $180 per year. Canadian contraceptive-care providers have identified cost as the single most important barrier to access, and youth as the population most disproportionately affected by this barrier.

In addition to helping prevent unintended pregnancies, people use contraceptive medications for a wide range of reasons, including treating chronic pelvic pain, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, heavy menstrual bleeding, irregular cycles, hormonal acne, cyclical mood changes, and gender affirming care.

Studies have found that free prescription contraception is a revenue-positive policy. Dr. Wendy Norman, from UBC’s Contraception and Abortion Research Team’s Contraception Cost-effectiveness modelling project team, estimated that the policy would save the BC health system $27 million, or over $5 per BC resident, per year. A 2015 study in the Canadian Association Medical Journal estimated that if this policy were rolled out across Canada, it would save governments $320 million a year, and this is just in the form of direct medical costs associated with unintended pregnancy.

On April 1, 2023, British Columbia became the first province to make prescription contraception free. This policy covers a wide range of contraceptives, including pills, injections, implants, IUDs, and emergency contraception. In November 2023, Manitoba announced that it would be adopting the policy. The recently announced first phase of the national pharmacare plan will provide universal, single-payer coverage for a range of contraception and diabetes medications.

In BC, this policy has already improved access to contraceptives for thousands of residents. A recent article in the Martlet reported that in the first 15 months of the program, 252,000 British Columbians access free prescription contraception: 152,200 patients accessed hormonal pills, 48,200 accessed hormonal IUDs, 9,500 patients received hormonal injections, 7,500 received a copper IUD, 7,400 had an implant, and 2,000 received a vaginal ring.

The policy has helped increase contraception usage. Recent research from UBC found that by June 2024, of the 80,200 people in BC using long-acting reversible contraceptives (such as IUDs and implants), and 11,400 of these people would not have been had the government not enacted free prescription contraception. This research also found that the number of people using any form of prescription contraception also increased by 10%. And the policy has also reduced the number of people paying out of pocket for prescription contraception, from 37% before the policy was implemented, to only 13% in June 2024.

The cost of diabetes is also significant. In 2022, Diabetes Canada determined that out-of-pocket costs were as high as $18,306 per year for people living with Type 1 diabetes and as high as $10,014 per year for those living with Type 2 diabetes.

A list of campaigns across Canada can be found here.