Free prescription birth control to start in Manitoba on Oct. 1

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Peggy

Birth control will become free for all Manitobans with a prescription as of Oct. 1, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced on Thursday.

The Manitoba pharmacare program will cover the full cost of about 60 commonly used birth-control methods, including the pill, intrauterine devices, hormone injections and others.

“Costs should never be a barrier to you receiving the health care you need, and we all know that reproductive health care is health care. Birth control is health care,” Asagwara said.

“People deserve to have autonomy over their bodies, autonomy over their health-care choices, and to have the choice to make reproductive decisions that make the most sense for them. This announcement today is about reproductive justice.”

A person stands at a podium, smiling as people applaud around them — Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara gets a round of applause after announcing the birth control coverage on Thursday at the Manitoba Legislative Building. (Prabjhot Singh Lotey/CBC)

At the moment, cost is a barrier for many, Asagwara said.

Someone who pays $25 a month for oral hormonal pills could save as much as $10,000 over their lifetime under the new free plan, they said.

“Our government is breaking down those barriers.”

The province first announced its plan for free prescription birth control in its throne speech in November 2023 and repeated that in its March 2024 budget.

To get the free coverage, Manitobans who do not already have coverage from another federal or provincial program can present their prescription and their Manitoba Health Card at a pharmacy for a birth control product.

People can get a prescription from their doctor or a nurse practitioner, at a walk-in clinic or in a hospital.

“In a world where reproductive rights are increasingly threatened … [this] announcement affirms reproductive health care as a human right and as a means of empowerment [and] liberation,” Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said.

“Free birth control reduces health-care costs associated with unintended pregnancies, including prenatal care, delivery and abortion services. Free birth control fundamentally contributes to gender equality by ensuring women, girls and gender-diverse folks have the same opportunities as men in education, employment and personal development.”

It also helps in breaking the cycle of poverty and allows women more freedom to determine when, with whom or if they’re in a relationship, Fontaine said.

“Free birth control is a powerful tool in dismantling patriarchal, systemic inequalities. Free birth control gives women, girls and gender-diverse folks freedom … to determine their paths that their lives take and the opportunity to live their best lives.”