Submitting price changes
Last updated on January 24, 2024Manufacturers may submit price increase requests to PharmaCare once a year. Price increase requests will not be considered outside of the deadlines.
Accepted price changes will affect the amount that pharmacies are reimbursed for PharmaCare-eligible benefits.
On this page: Brand name and single-source generic drugs | Generic drugs
Price increases
Manufacturers can request price increases for brand-name drugs and single-source generic drugs once a year.
Submit requests to ss.pricechanges@gov.bc.ca using the Brand Price Change Spreadsheet (XLS, 18KB).
- The annual deadline for submissions is December 31. Submissions received on or after January 1 will not be considered
- Price changes come into effect April 1 the following year
- Submissions must be emailed (submissions sent by mail or fax will not be considered)
- Manufacturers will receive an email confirming that PharmaCare has received their request
Approval of a price increase is at the sole discretion of the Province. Manufacturers will be notified if their request is denied.
Note: This information does not apply to price changes for multi-sourced generic drugs in the Low Cost Alternative Program (LCA).
Price decreases
Manufacturers can submit price decreases to ss.pricechanges@gov.bc.ca using the Brand Price Change Spreadsheet (XLS, 18KB). Price decreases can be submitted throughout the year.
Price decreases will be effective 30 days after the change has been accepted. This gives pharmacies time to clear stock purchased at higher prices.
Price increases
Manufacturers can submit price increases for generic drugs once a year.
Submit requests to generic.submissions@gov.bc.ca using the Generic Price Change Spreadsheet (XLS, 18KB).
- The annual deadline for submissions is December 31. Submissions received on or after January 1 will not be considered
- Accepted price increase are announced March 1 the following year on the LCA/RDP Data Files web page
- Price changes come into effect April 1 the following year
- Submissions must be emailed (submissions received by mail or fax will not be considered)
Approval of a price increase request is at the sole discretion of the Province. Manufacturers will be notified if their request is denied.
Price decreases
Manufacturers can submit price decreases to generic.submissions@gov.bc.ca using the Generic Price Change Spreadsheet (XLS, 18KB). Price decreases can be submitted throughout the year.
Price decreases will be effective 30 days after the change has been accepted and announced on the LCA/RDP Data Files web page. This gives pharmacies time to clear stock purchased at higher prices.