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The provincial government says nearly 90,000 families in British Columbia have benefited from its decision to waive drug deductibles for those who make less than $30,000 a year.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the expansion of the Fair PharmaCare program saw the number of beneficiaries jump from 63,600 beneficiaries during the period of January to March 2018 to 151,900 beneficiaries during the same time period in 2019.

“In the first three months since government made the changes to Fair PharmaCare, around 88,300 more lower-income families have benefited,” Dix said Thursday.

“This means fewer people are having to make the difficult choice when going to the grocery store between either buying food and daily necessities for their family or prescription medicine.”

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The province now pays up to 70 per cent of eligible prescription drug costs right away for those with $30,000 or less in net income. Previously, a household earning a net annual income between $15,000 and $30,000 would have to pay between $300 and $600 in deductibles before Fair PharmaCare would start to provide coverage assistance.

“This was the first-ever change to Fair PharmaCare deductibles and co-payments since the program was created 16 years ago,” Dix said.

“Previously, anyone registered with Fair PharmaCare, even people with the lowest incomes, would have to pay out-of-pocket before receiving 100 per cent coverage.”

Dix provided the example that a family earning $11,250 net a year was required to spend $200 on prescription drug co-payments before PharmaCare would cover the full cost of eligible prescription drugs. Ministry of Health data show a link between low-income levels, deductibles and decreased drug spending, indicating that families will forgo filling prescriptions due to the cost of deductibles and co-payments.

“A dollar only stretches so far, and no one understands this more than people living on low incomes,” Council of Seniors Citizens’ Organizations of B.C. president Gudrun Langolf said.

“Choosing between food or prescriptions is a reality many seniors faced, and I applaud the B.C. government for taking the long-awaited action to provide relief and make it easier for people to get the prescriptions they need.”

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