Update on National Pharmacare Program Implementation

The federal government's National Pharmacare program is being rolled out in select provinces, offering universal, single-payer coverage for certain prescription medications.

Prince Edward Island is the first province in Atlantic Canada to implement these changes, effective May 1, 2025. Prince Edward Island residents may have access to public coverage for medications related to birth control and diabetes.

• Pharmacists will bill the public plan first for eligible medications.
• There is no change to individual plan members coverage at this time and Medavie Blue Cross will coordinate with the public plan where applicable.
• Members currently taking medications that now require special authorization through the provincial Pharmacare program will be contacted by letter. Impacted members will be given a reasonable period of time to transition to the public plan.

To support you in communicating this update with plan members, we have developed a member notice for residents of Prince Edward Island.

Read More

We will continue to monitor claim trends closely, but based on our analysis of claims data, we expect the impact if any to be minimal given that most of the spend on diabetes drugs will not be offset by Pharmacare in PEI.