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.”
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, she 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.