90%+ of Freddie's patients get PrEP for free! Many patients are covered by public programs in the provinces where we operate. Freddie’s financial assistance also reduces or eliminates co-pay for patients in Ontario who have to pay for PrEP.
Coverage across the different provinces is as follows:
Alberta
Generic Truvada is fully covered through the province if someone has valid Alberta Health Care coverage.
Ontario
Generic Truvada is covered for Ontarians who are 24 years old and younger or get insurance through Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program.
If you are age 25+ and have to pay for PrEP, you have two options:
- If you have private insurance: Our co-pay assistance program reduces the cost of the co-pay to $0 for the vast majority of patients.
- If you don’t have private insurance: We can connect you with the Trillium Drug Program, which is a provincial program to reduce prescription drug costs. Our financial assistance can then reduce or eliminate your co-pay through this program! The final amount will depend on your income, because Trillium coverage is tied to how much you earn. Freddie also provides three months of free PrEP while you wait for your coverage to kick in, so you don’t have to worry while your Trillium paperwork is processed.
Manitoba
Manitoba’s Pharmacare program is available to anyone without private insurance. This will either reduce or remove your costs for generic Truvada, depending on your income.
Saskatchewan
Generic Truvada is fully covered for all Saskatchewan patients who are insured through the provincial health system.
British Columbia
If you have valid private insurance through work or school:
Affirming Care Pharmacy can process prescriptions for Descovy or generic Truvada. This option allows many patients to access their medication without going through the provincial public system. Some insurance plans, however, may require patients to go through the BC MSP for coverage.
Please note: Pacific Blue Cross does not cover any type of PrEP.
If you do not have private insurance or if your private insurance does not cover any of the medications:
You will need to access PrEP using your provincial health coverage (MSP) through the BC Centre for Excellence.
Due to provincial regulations in British Columbia, prescriptions for PrEP that are covered under BC’s Medical Services Plan (MSP) must be accessed through the BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program. As a result, Freddie is unable to provide assistance with future prescriptions or submit applications on your behalf. However, BC MSP will cover a large portion of the cost of generic Truvada. Patients must apply directly to the BC-CfE program themselves.
You may also reach out to your general practitioner to see if they can assist with submitting the application or prescribing PrEP through BC-CfE. For further assistance, the BC-CfE can be contacted directly at 1-800-663-7100.
If you do not have a general practitioner, the following resources can help you apply to the BCCfE:
- HIM Clinic: https://checkhimout.ca/what-is-prep/how-do-i-get-prep/
- BCCDC STI Clinic: http://www.bccdc.ca/our-services/our-clinics/sexually-transmitted-infections-clinics
If you go through the initial process to receive a prescription from Freddie and your insurance is denied, our team will reach out to inform you accordingly. If we have recent lab results on file, we will provide you with them as well to speed up the application process to BCCfE.
Our pharmacy team may also be able to provide a compassionate PrEP prescription while you arrange for a new practitioner to assist with your ongoing prescriptions.
We strongly recommend beginning the BC-CfE application process before your current supply runs out to ensure uninterrupted access to your medication.