B-C is expanding the program it uses to help patients kick their dependence on opioids.
A statement from the Health Ministry says B-C will now provide universal coverage for eligible drugs -- which include methadone -- that are rated as opioid agonist treatment medications.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says removing cost barriers to medication-assisted treatment "will help more people stabilize their lives, prevent deaths and stay on their journey to wellness."
Now covered by MSP for everyone in BC, OAT, (also referred to as medication-assisted treatment) is an option for people struggling with opioid-use disorder. It improves retention in treatment, sustains abstinence from illicit opioid use, and helps reduce the risk of death.
— Jennifer Whiteside (@JM_Whiteside) June 14, 2023
The statement says the expanded program differs from safer supply -- which provides alternatives to illicit drugs -- and will help the roughly 16-hundred B-C patients who can't get PharmaCare coverage for the drugs needed to manage their opioid-use disorder.
British Columbia says it is providing universal coverage for opioid agonist treatments that help people with substance use disorders, making it the first province in Canada to do so.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a news release issued Wednesday that full coverage of the medications will be available to all B.C. residents with an active medical services plan.
The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, Jennifer Whiteside, said the policy became effective June 6, and expands full coverage to approximately 1,638 people who had been paying out of pocket, out of a total of 34,520 who had been receiving the treatments in B.C. last year.
Dix said improving access to the medication strengthens the public health system.
"By reducing financial barriers to opioid agonist treatment medication, we're making it easier for people to get the care they need and helping to create more equitable health outcomes for people in B.C."
Opioid agonist treatment involves the use of medications such as methadone, and the ministry said it is distinct from safer supply, in which "pharmaceutical alternatives to illicit drugs" are prescribed in order to initially separate people from the toxic street-drug market.
The agonist treatment has been proven to work by keeping people from illicit opioid use, which reduces the risk of death, the news release said.
The move comes amid pushback from B.C. health officials against criticism of the province's safe supply program and drug policies by federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre and others.
Whiteside, said in the statement the coverage removes cost barriers to opioid treatments and will help people "stabilize their lives, prevent deaths and stay on their journey to wellness."
"The toxic drug crisis continues to claim lives at an unprecedented rate. When people reach out for help, we want them met with support regardless of the size of their pocketbook," Whiteside said.
More than 12,000 people have died because of illicit drugs since the B.C. government declared a public health emergency in April 2016.
