The Manitoba government will add 120 new generic drugs to be covered under Manitoba's Pharmacare Program , Health Minister Theresa Oswald said Thursday.
The decision, effective March 19, means the province will save about $4 million a year as these generic drugs will replace more costly prescription medication. The province already covers more than 1,950 drugs under the Pharmacare system. For a complete list of approved drugs go to www.gov.mb.ca/health/mdbif/.
Pharmacare assists patients with the cost of prescription drugs by covering all bills for them after an income-based deductible.
In a release Oswald said the generic drug cost savings are substantial. For example, generic blood pressure medication Ramipril costs about half as much as prescription drug Altace; Altace costs about $33.60 a month while Ramipril only $19.95.
Tory health critic Kelvin Goertzen said the province could save even more money be creating a speedier approval process for generic drugs -- drugs already approved by Health Canada.
He said the committee that approve these drugs just has to meet more frequently and then make a decision when they do meet.
"It's shouldn't be a complicated process," he said. "Sometimes the minister has to give direction."
A provincial audit of the Pharmacare in 2006 revealed program costs more than doubled from 1999 to 2005, and that the rate of increase was above the national average.
Then Auditor General Jon Singleton said while Manitoba provided one of the most comprehensive drug benefit programs in the country, more had to be done to bring rising costs under control.
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