Contraceptives – information for health professionals
Last updated: August 3, 2023
PharmaCare fully covers most contraceptives for any B.C. resident enrolled in the Medical Services Plan (MSP).
For general information for the public, see Prescription contraceptives covered by PharmaCare
On this page: How it works | Procedures for prescribers and pharmacists | Covered contraceptives | Resources
PharmaCare covers the full cost of many contraceptives for all B.C. residents.
- Oral contraceptives
- Intrauterine devices (IUDs) – hormonal and copper
- A hormone implant
- A hormone injection
- A vaginal ring
- Emergency oral contraceptives (no prescription needed)
How it works
- Prescribers do not need to complete any forms. They prescribe a fully covered contraceptive or help patients transition to one
- Patients do not need to register. They need to be enrolled in MSP. If they have applied and MSP coverage is pending, pharmacists can apply for exceptional Plan Z coverage
- All products need to be entered in PharmaNet by a pharmacist to be covered. For IUDs and implants, patients will need to book follow-up appointments for insertion
- Coverage is for contraceptives, regardless of the reason for the prescription
Procedures for prescribers and pharmacists
- Prescribe a fully covered contraceptive or switch a prescription to one that is fully covered. A full list of covered contraceptives is below
- Alternatively, the PharmaCare Formulary Search will be updated regularly to reflect coverage changes. Click on the item's DIN/PIN in your search results to see coverage information: items covered under Plan Z are fully covered for any B.C. resident; items covered under Plan C or W are fully covered for people with Plan C or W coverage
- No prescription is needed for the morning-after pill. Pharmacists must enter the dispense in PharmaNet (with their practitioner ID in the prescriber field)
- PharmaCare’s Full Payment Policy applies to fully covered contraceptives. Pharmacists may not charge for the drug, dispense, or anything else associated with filling the prescription
Emergency contraceptives must be entered into PharmaNet under the patient’s PHN who will be taking the drug. This ensures an accurate PharmaNet record. Pharmacists must check patient identification before providing any pharmacy services. Please see the College of Pharmacists PPP-54 for additional guidance. If the patient is not picking up themselves, pharmacists should confirm that the person picking up the medication has been authorized to do so by the patient.
Covered contraceptives (last update: August 3, 2023)
DIN (for pharmacist use) | Product | Ingredients | Benefit status (full benefit = free) |
---|---|---|---|
2236974 | Alesse 21 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2236975 | Alesse 28 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2387875 | Alysena 21 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Full benefit |
2387883 | Alysena 28 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Full benefit |
2317192 | Apri 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2317206 | Apri 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2298538 | Aviane 21 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Full benefit |
2298546 | Aviane 28 | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg levonorgestrel 0.1 mg |
Full benefit |
2187086 | Brevicon 0.5/35 (21) | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 0.5 mg |
Full benefit |
2187094 | Brevicon 0.5/35 (28) | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 0.5 mg |
Full benefit |
2189054 | Brevicon 1/35 (21) | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 1 mg |
Full benefit |
2189062 | Brevicon 1/35 (28) | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 1 mg |
Full benefit |
2462060 | Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
2421437 | Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
2421445 | Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
2396491 | Freya 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2396610 | Freya 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2441306 | Jencycla | norethindrone 0.35 mg | Full benefit |
2272903 | Linessa 21 | ethinyl estradiol 25 mcg desogestrel 0.1/ 0.125/ 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2257238 | Linessa 28 | ethinyl estradiol 25 mcg desogestrel 0.1/ 0.125/ 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2042487 | Marvelon 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2042479 | Marvelon 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2042320 | Min-Ovral 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2042339 | Min-Ovral 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2410249 | Mirvala 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2410257 | Mirvala 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg desogestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2410303 | Movisse | norethindrone 0.35 mg | Full benefit |
2415380 | Mya | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
2387085 | Ovima 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2387093 | Ovima 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2295946 | Portia 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2295954 | Portia 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.15 mg |
Full benefit |
2187108 | Synphasic 21 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 0.5/ 1 mg |
Full benefit |
2187116 | Synphasic 28 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norethindrone 0.5/ 1 mg |
Full benefit |
2508087 | Tri-Cira 21 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
2508095 | Tri-Cira 28 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
2486296 | Tri-Jordyna 21 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
2486318 | Tri-Jordyna 28 | ethinyl estradiol 35 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
2401967 | Tricira-Lo 21 | ethinyl estradiol 25 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
2401975 | Tricira-Lo 28 | ethinyl estradiol 25 mcg norgestimate 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 mg |
Full benefit |
707600 | Triquilar 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.05/ 0.075/ 0.125 mg |
Full benefit |
707503 | Triquilar 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg levonorgestrel 0.05/ 0.075/ 0.125 mg |
Full benefit |
2261723 | Yasmin 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2261731 | Yasmin 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2321157 | Yaz | ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Partial benefit (talk to a pharmacist about free, generic options) |
2410788 | Zamine 21 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
2410796 | Zamine 28 | ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg drospirenone 3 mg |
Full benefit |
DIN (for pharmacist use) | Product | Ingredient | Benefit status (full benefit = free) |
---|---|---|---|
2459523 | Kyleena | levonorgestrel 19.5 mg | Full benefit |
2243005 | Mirena | levonorgestrel 52 mg | Full benefit |
DIN (for pharmacist use) | Product | Ingredient | Benefit status (full benefit = free) |
---|---|---|---|
2523493 | Depo-Provera | medroxyprogesterone acetate 150 mg | Full benefit |
DIN (for pharmacist use) | Product | Ingredient | Benefit status (full benefit = free) |
---|---|---|---|
2499509 | Nexplanon | etonogestrel 68 mg | Full benefit |
Primary ingredient | Secondary ingredient | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ethinyl estradiol (EE) (mcg) | estetrol (mg) | no secondary ingredient |
|||||||
10 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 30-40-30 | 15 | |||
desogestrel (mg) |
0.15 | Apri, Freya, Mirvala, Marvelon* | |||||||
0.1/ 0.125/ 0.15 |
Linessa | ||||||||
drospirenone (mg) | 3 | YAZ Plus (+levomefolate), Mya, drospirenone/ EE tabs, YAZ* | Zamine, drospirenone/ EE tabs, Yasmin* | Nextstellis | |||||
4 | Slynd | ||||||||
levonorgestrel (mg) | 0.1 | Alysena, Aviane, Alesse* | |||||||
0.15 | Ovima, Portia, Min-Ovral* 91-day packs: Seasonale, Indayo, Seasonique (+ 7 days EE 10 mcg) |
||||||||
0.05/ 0.075/ 0.125 |
Triquilar | ||||||||
norethindrone (mg) | 0.35 | Movisse, Jencycla | |||||||
0.5 | Brevicon 0.5/35 | ||||||||
1 | LoLo | Select 1/35, Brevicon 1/35 | |||||||
0.5/ 1 | Synphasic | ||||||||
norgestimate (mg) | 0.18/ 0.215/ 0.25 |
Tricira-Lo | Tri-Cira, Tri-Jordyna |
Resources
Free prescription contraception – information for the public
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