Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says that British Columbia is the first province in Canada to cover birth control pills with a prescription
According to the provincial budget that was released on Tuesday, B.C. will be the first place in Canada to make all prescription contraception free for all residents starting on April 1.
With $119 million in funding over the next three years, all women who need prescription birth control will be able to get it. It includes hormone pills that are taken by mouth, contraceptive injections, hormonal devices that are put inside the uterus, subdermal implants, and Plan B, which is also called the morning-after pill.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said it was a priority for her government to help people have control over their reproductive rights, even though it was only a small part of the billions of dollars that were spent on health initiatives, such as the nearly $1 billion that was spent on mental health and addiction treatments.
“These basic rights are attacked too often,” she said in her speech about the budget. “Not in B.C.,” he said.
“Win for health; win for equal rights for women and men.
The province said that a person who pays $25 a month for hormone pills could save up to $10,000 over their lifetime by using the new free plan.
Conroy said, “As the mother of two daughters and five granddaughters, I know how this will affect the lives of people in our province.”
“This is a win for health and for fairness between men and women in our province.”
Nikki Hill helped lead a United Way campaign for free menstrual products, and in May of last year, she was chosen to lead a government-funded task force on the issue. She liked the idea of free birth control.
She said, “There is such a direct link between period poverty and menstrual health, so the fact that contraception is now easy to get is such a huge step forward.”
“I think of poor people who have to deal with complicated menstrual health, and that makes us happy.”
Watch: The co-chair of the B.C. Period Poverty Task Force praises funding for birth control.
Officials from the government said that starting in April, MSP residents who want to get free birth control will have to get a prescription from their family doctor and take it to their pharmacist with their MSP card.
But starting as early as May, residents will be able to get a prescription for birth control directly from their pharmacist. This was announced last fall as part of a plan to give pharmacists more responsibilities.
The money in B.C.’s budget for free birth control is one of a number of measures meant to help people deal with the high cost of living in B.C.
They include an increase to the B.C. Family Benefit and the B.C. Climate Action Tax Credit, as well as a renter’s tax credit and higher shelter rates for people on disability assistance.