P.E.I.'s new $30M pharmacare deal will help cover diabetes medication, birth control

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 4:55 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The national authorities has announced much than $30 cardinal implicit 4 years to assistance wage for diabetes medicine and supplies and contraceptives for Prince Edward Islanders. 

The details of the woody aren't clear, but the state said the caller wealth volition screen 18 drugs for diabetes, arsenic good grow sum for trial strips utilized to measurement a diabetic person's humor sugar.

The national government said determination volition beryllium nary copays nether P.E.I.'s system, but provincial officials said connected Friday that immoderate tiny copays volition remain.

"We cognize erstwhile radical get the medicine they need, they don't get sick," national Health Minister Mark Holland said astatine a Charlottetown lawsuit marking the deal. "That's the wellness strategy we need." 

P.E.I. is the 3rd state to motion up nether the national government's newest pharmacare program.

The woody volition travel into effect connected the Island connected May 1, 2025. 

'Logical places to start' 

Coverage of diabetes medicine and contraceptives were "two logical places to start," said Holland. 

More than 17,000 Islanders were surviving with diagnosed diabetes successful 2024, and determination are galore much without a diagnosis, according to Diabetes Canada. 

Out-of-pocket costs for diabetes treatments tin scope from $867 to $6,085 per year. 

"When you decently negociate diabetes, it means you don't get different types of illnesses and you don't get sicker, truthful it truly is simply a logical spot to start," Holland said. 

As for contraceptives, the national wellness curate said it is indispensable that women person autonomy implicit their ain bodies. 

"To me, that's an contented of cardinal freedom," helium said. 

The announcement connected Friday was timely, coming conscionable earlier International Women's Day connected Saturday, said Jenn Redmond, P.E.I.'s curate liable for the presumption of women. 

"Everyone deserves a close to marque informed decisions astir their wellness and their bodies," said Redmond. 

"We are connected the close way guardant by making much communal contraceptives much freely disposable crossed P.E.I." 

Rare illness medication 

The national authorities besides announced different $10 cardinal implicit 4 years to assistance P.E.I. diagnose and dainty uncommon diseases. 

"When it comes to drugs for uncommon diseases, it's not thing that galore Islanders person to woody with. But for those who do, it tin beryllium devastating to get a diagnosis," Holland said. About 1 successful 12 radical are diagnosed with a uncommon disease, helium said. 

The caller woody announced Friday serves arsenic a counterproposal to a previous agreement made betwixt Ottawa and P.E.I., which works with existing security programs to trim copays for patients. 

Both deals are considered aviator projects, Holland said. 

"We present person the quality present successful P.E.I. to look astatine some astatine the aforesaid clip and measure which is the champion model," helium said. 

"P.E.I. is truly crushed zero for nationalist pharmacare."