About national pharmacare

On this page

• Overview
• Diabetes
• Contraception
• What’s next

Overview

The Government of Canada is committed to making sure that you can get the medications you need, no matter where you live or your ability to pay. We're working with our partners to build a national universal pharmacare system that improves:

• accessibility
• affordability
• appropriate use
• universal coverage

We’re signing pharmacare agreements with provinces and territories that will make certain products free at the pharmacy counter. You may still have to pay other fees, like delivery fees or prescribing fees, but in general, the costs of different contraceptives and diabetes medications will be paid for publicly.  This means you won’t need to coordinate benefits for covered products with private insurance plans.

Private and public drug plans will continue to cover a range of products outside the contraceptives and diabetes medications included in pharmacare bilateral agreements.

Find out what’s covered by national pharmacare in your area.

The Pharmacare Act outlines our commitment to work with provincial and territorial partners towards national pharmacare. It sets out the next steps we'll take, starting with making a range of contraceptives and diabetes medications free. We'll also:

• establish an expert committee to advise us on how to operate and finance national pharmacare
• ask Canada's Drug Agency to develop advice on:
  • a national bulk purchasing strategy
  • a list of essential prescription drugs and related products
• publish a pan-Canadian strategy to promote appropriate use of prescription drugs and related products

Diabetes

About 3.8 million people in Canada have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2018, costs to the healthcare system related to diabetes were estimated at $27 billion, and they could surpass $39 billion by 2028.

Pharmacare agreements with provinces and territories will ensure that if you have diabetes, you'll generally have free access to medications like:

• Metformin, which can cost about $100 per year
• Insulin, which can cost between $900 and $1,700 per year
• Sulfonylureas and SGLT-2 inhibitors, which can cost from $100 to over $1,000 per year

Coverage for diabetes medications and supplies currently varies widely across Canada. All provinces and territories cover many of the commonly-prescribed drugs, but the cost to patients can vary greatly.

We'll also set up a fund for provinces and territories to help you access the supplies you need to:

• administer your medication, such as insulin pumps and syringes
• manage and monitor your condition, such as glucose monitors and test strips

Find out if your diabetes medication is covered by national pharmacare.

Contraception

Pharmacare agreements with provinces and territories will give over 9 million people in Canada reproductive freedom and better access to contraception (birth control). In general, they'll ensure that you have free access to a variety of contraceptive drugs and devices, such as:

• oral contraceptives
• copper and hormonal IUDs
• rings
• implants
• injections

This variety means that you'll be able to choose the contraception that best suits your medical needs and personal circumstances.

Find out if your contraception is covered by pharmacare.

What’s next

We’ll make details on this new coverage available after we sign agreements with provinces and territories.

The first phase of national pharmacare is focused on contraception and diabetes. Our objective is to “learn by doing” in a Canadian context. We’ll base discussions about future phases, including the addition of other drugs, on what we learn during this phase of implementing the Pharmacare Act. We’ll also use lessons learned from other initiatives, such as the:

• National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases
• Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs initiative with Prince Edward Island

Related links

• Pharmacare bilateral agreements
• National Pharmacare Committee of Experts
• Letter to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada's Drug Agency
• Government of Canada Passes Legislation for a First Phase of National Universal Pharmacare
• Backgrounder: Universal Access to Contraception
• Backgrounder: Universal Access to Diabetes Medications, and Diabetes Device Fund for Devices and Supplies