Albertans are responsible for the cost of prescription drugs provided to them outside hospitals, auxiliary hospitals and nursing homes.

Prescription Drugs for Seniors
Drug coverage for Seniors is available to all Albertans 65 years of age and older and their dependants. To qualify, one must be 65 years of age or older, or be the spouse or adult interdependent partner of a person 65 years of age or older, be a resident of Alberta, be registered with the Alberta Health CAre Insurance Plan and have not opted out of the plan, and must have submitted proof of age to either Alberta Health and Wellness or to Alberta Seniors and Community Supports. Eligible Albertans pay 30% of the cost, to a maximum of $25, for each drug prescribed. Individuals are responsible for additional costs related to the choice of more expensive brand-name drugs instead of an equivalent generic drug.

Alberta Blue Cross Non-group Coverabe
Non-group coverage is a supplementary health benefits program available for Albertans under the age of 65 and not in receipt of the Alberta Widows' Pension.

Premiums are set at: Regular Coverage $61.50 (single) or $123.00 (family) and Subsidized Coverage $43.05 (single) or $86.10 (family)
*premium subsidies are are based on an individual's prior year income tax return

The prescription drug benefits of Non-group coverage are as follows:
Co-payment is 30% to a maximum of $25 unless drugs are not listed in the Alberta Health and Wellness Drug Benefit List, an individual chooses a more expensive brand of drug than the lowest-cost or generic brand, or if the brand of drug costs more than the maximum cost set by Alberta Health and Wellness

Other
Alberta Employment and Immigration contracts with alberta Blue Cross to offer health benefits, including prescription drugs, for the following client groups:

• Income Support, for Albertans who don't have the resources to meet their basic needs;
• Alberta Adult Health Benefit, for Albertans who leave income support;
• Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), for adults who have a permanent disability which severely affects their ability to earn a livelihood;
• Alberta Child Health Benefit, for children of low-income families.

Additional Coverage

Other mechanisms employed by Alberta Health and Wellness to provide coverage for prescription drugs include:

• Alberta Health Services provides all medically required drugs used in hospitals, auxiliary hospitals and nursing homes, at no direct cost to the patient.
• Province-wide Services provides funding to regional health authorities in Edmonton and Calgary for select high-cost drugs.
• The Alberta Cancer Board may provide medically-required cancer drugs as specified in the Alberta Cancer Board Outpatient Cancer Drug Benefit Program, at no charge, to eligible residents for the treatment of cancer.
• Disease Control and Prevention provides prescription drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis and sexually transmitted disease at no direct cost to the patient.

Fair PharmaCare Program
All BC residents currently receiving MSP benefits are eligible to apply for Fair Pharmacare, which is income-based. Residents are responsible for the full cost of prescription drugs until prescribed deductibles have been reached. Maximum annual costs are also prescribed.

PharmaCare will pay 70% of your family's eligible costs for the rest of the year after deductible is reached and until family maximum is exhausted. For those born in 1939 or earlier, PharmaCare will pay 75% of eligible costs for the rest of the year, after deductible is reached.

PharmaCare sets a maximum cost that it will recognize for eligible prescription drugs and medical supplies and for a dispensing fee. Individuals are responsible for additional costs.

Other Drug Programs
Permanent Residents of Licensed Residential Care Facilities (Plan B) - PharmaCare covers the full cost of eligible prescription drugs and designated medical supplies for permanent residents of licensed residential care facilities in B.C.

Recipients of B.C. Income Assistance (Plan C) - 100% coverage of eligible prescription costs for B.C. residents receiving medical benefits and income assistance through the Ministry of Housing and Social Development.

Cystic Fibrosis (Plan D) - Individuals with cystic fibrosis who are registered with a provincial cystic fibrosis clinic receive digestive enzymes free of charge through Plan D.

Children in the At Home Program (Plan F) - provides community-based, family-style care for severely handicapped children who would otherwise become reliant on institutional care. Children receiving full benefits or medical benefits through the program qualify for full coverage of eligible prescription drugs and designated medical supplies.

No-Charge Psychiatric Medication Plan (Plan G) - available to individuals of any age who are registered with a mental health services centre and who demonstrate clinical and financial need. The plan provides coverage of certain psychiatric medications. Registration and approval is required.

BC Palliative Care Benefits Program supports BC residents of any age who have reached the end stage of a life-threatening disease or illness and who wish to receive palliative care at home.

B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS-available to HIV-positive persons living in British Columbia for receipt of antiretroviral drugs free of charge when enrolled with the centre.

Pharmacare is an income-based program available to all Manitobans, regardless of age. Coverage is based on total family income and the amount paid for eligible prescription drugs. An annual deductible is assigned based on these factors.

Other programs are available for social assistance recipients, residents of long-term care facilities and the terminally ill.

The NB Prescription Drug Program provides benefits to a number of eligible beneficiary groups. Eligible groups include:

• Plan A - Seniors
• Plan B - Cystic Fibrosis
• Plan E - Social Development (adult residential facility)
• Plan F - Social Development (other)
• Plan G - Special needs children and children in care of the Minister of Social Development
• Plan H - Multiple Sclerosis
• Plan R - Organ transplant
• Plan T - Human growth hormone
• Plan U - HIV
• Plan V - Nursing home

Plan A-Seniors - available to those age 65 and over who receive the federal GIS or qualify based on an annual income as follows:

• a single person with an annual income of $17,198 or less;
• couple with both persons 65 years of age or older, with a combined annual income of $26,955 or less;
• couple with one person who is under 65 years of age, with a combined annual income of $32,390 or less.

Beneficiaries receiving the GIS are required to pay a co-payment of $9.05 for each prescription, up to a maximum of $250 in one calendar year.

Beneficiaries who qualify based on their total annual income are required to pay a co-payment of $15 per prescription with no yearly co-payment maximum.

Individuals must be registered with New Brunswick Medicare in accordance with the Medical Services Payment Act. An application package is automatically sent to every New Brunswick resident 60 days before their 65th birthday and must be completed and forwarded to the program in order for coverage to be considered.

The Prescription Drug Program provides financial assistance in the purchase of eligible prescription medications and has four branches.

1. Foundation Plan - provides 100% coverage of eligible prescription drugs for those in receipt of income support benefits, individuals receiving services through the Regional Health Authorities, including children in the care of Child, Youth and Family Services and individuals in supervised care.
2. The 65Plus Plan - provides coverage of eligible prescription drugs to residents 65 years of age and older who receive Old Age Security benefits and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Coverage does not include dispensing fees.
3. Access Plan - provides coverage to low income residents. Coverage is determined by net income level and family status.
4. Assurance Plan - offers protection for individuals and families against the financial burden of eligible high drug costs, whether be it from the cost of one extremely high cost drug or the combined cost of different drugs. Depending on income level, individuals and families will be assured that their annual out-of-pocket eligible drug costs will be capped at 5, 7.5 or 10% of their net family income.

The NLPDP also provides 100% coverage for disease-specific medications and supplies for patients with Cystic Fibrosis and Growth Hormone Deficiency.

Alberta Blue Cross administers the following programs on behalf of the Government of the NWT:

• Métis Health Benefits
• Prescription Drug and Dental Benefits for Seniors
• Prescription Drug Benefits for Specified Medical Conditions
li>First Nations people and Inuit have drug coverage through NIHB

Prescription Drug Benefits for Seniors (eligible at age 60):

• Program provides up to 100% coverage for eligible prescription drug products in the NWT Drug Listing, when the drug is prescribed by a health care professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist

Nova Scotia provides assistance to eligible residents through various programs to help pay for prescribed medications and supplies listed in the Nova Scotia Formulary including:

• Drug Assistance for Cancer Patients
• Department of Community Services - PharmaCare Benefits
• Diabetes Assistance program
• Family Pharmacare Program
• Seniors' Pharmacare Program

Seniors' Pharmacare Program - available to eligible residents age 65 and over who do not have drug coverage through Veterans Affairs Canada, Non-Insured Health Benefits, Nova Scotia Family Pharmacare or any other public or private drug plan.

The plan covers certain prescribed drugs and supplies listed as benefits under the Nova Scotia Formulary.

Seniors are responsible for an annual income-based maximum $424 premium and a copayment of 33% of the total cost of each prescription. The annual maximum copayment is $382. Seniors are responsible for additional costs incurred when the purchase of brand name drugs are more expensive than generic, when the drug or supply prescribed is more than the maximum amount the program will pay, when prescribed costs are more than the maximum amount Seniors' Pharmacare will pay, or the drug prescribed is not covered by the plan.

Seniors and persons with chronic illness may obtain some coverage for drugs and medical supplies through the Extended Health Program. Inuits are eligible for coverage through Health Canada. No coverage is provided for non-Inuits.

Ontario's drug benefit programs provide reimbursement for the cost of pharmaceutical products listed on the provincial drug formulary. Coverage is provided through the following programs:

Trillium Drug Program
Drug benefits to Ontario residents that have high drug costs in relation to their household income. Any Ontario resident that does not qualify under any of the other plans can apply for the Trillium Drug Program.

New Drug Funding Program for Cancer Care
Drug Benefits for newer, intravenous drugs, typically administered in hospitals and cancer care facilities. The Ministry provides about 75% of the overall funding for intravenous cancer drugs in Ontario and hospitals fund the remaining 25% through their operating budgets.

Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program
Drug benefits for Ontarians aged 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes and homes for special care, recipients of professional home services and social assistance and recipients of the Trillium Drug Program.

An Exceptional Access Program also exists to review funding requests for drugs not listed on the Formulary.

A Drug Cost Assistance Plan for seniors is open to residents age 65 and over on application. The Seniors Program pays the full cost for eligible prescriptions minus a $11 co-payment and the senior must also pay the dispensing fee.
The Family Health Benefit program assists lower income families with the cost of prescription drugs. Families with at least one child under age 18 with a total annual income less than $24,800 are eligible to participate.

All residents must be covered by a private drug plan or the public drug plan. Those eligible for coverage under a private plan must join that plan and private plan benefits cannot be less than the minimums set by the public plan.

The Public Prescription Drug INsurance Plan is intended for persons age 65 and over, recipients of last-resort financial assistance and other holders of a claim slip, persons who are not eligible for a private plan, or the children of persons covered by the public plan. It covers drugs obtained on prescription in Québec and dispensed by a pharmacist. The drugs covered are listed on the provincial List of Medications.

Public plan participants must pay an annual income-based premium, which is collected every year by the Ministère du Revenu du Québec when income tax returns are filed. Premium rates are revised annually in July. The current annual rate (January 2009) varies form $0 to $570 per adult, depending on net family income.

Coverage provided to eligible Saskatchewan residents for listed drugs prescribed outside Saskatchewan hospitals. Saskatchewan Health lists these covered drugs in the Saskatchewan Formulary.

Eligible persons include those in receipt of Supplementary Health Program benefits, a maximum of $2.00 per covered prescription is paid by the individual. Special benefits are available through the Saskatchewan Aids to Independent Living (SAIL) program (coverage is limited to people registered with SAIL's Paraplegia, Cystic Fibrosis or End Stage Renal Disease programs), Emergency Prescription Drug Assistance, for those who require immediate treatment and are unable to cover their share of the cost; and a Palliative Care Drug Program (PCDP) for patients whose life expectancy is measured in terms of months.

Seniors' Drug Plan - persons resident in Saskatchewan aged 65 and older pay no more than $15 per prescription (inclusive of dispensing fees) for drugs listed under the Saskatchewan Formulary, including drugs under Exception Drug Status. Seniors receiving either Saskatchewan Income Plan or federal Guaranteed Income Supplement have a $100 or $200 semi-annual deductible applied. Seniors benefiting from coverage will pay either the Special Support co-payment or the $15 per prescription cost, whichever is lower, while seniors whose drug costs or diabetic supplies exceed 3.4% of total family income may be eligible for additional assistance (lower deductibles and/or co-payment schemes based on income and drug costs).

Pharmacare eligibility:

• Must be registered with the Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan (YHCIP)
• Must be a Yukon resident at least 65 years of age or aged 60 and married to a living Yukon resident who is at least 65 years of age

Pharmacare pays total costs of lowest priced generics of all prescription drugs listed in the Yukon Pharmacare Formulary, including the dispensing fee. Certain non-prescription drugs and goods are also covered by the program such as:

• Compounds used to manage heart disease; nitroglycerin, preparations, digoxin and other digitalis related products; muscle relaxants, analgesics (used for the symptomatic relief of arthritic conditions); therapeutic minerals and vitamins (single-entity) insulin syringes

Children's Drug Program - Provides assistance to low income families for prescription drugs for children.