Treatment coverage in your region

Prescription Drug Programs in Alberta

Alberta Health and Wellness provides coverage for prescription drugs through Alberta Blue Cross, an independent health benefits organization. To receive health benefits and drug coverage, you must be registered with the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP). 

In Alberta, eligible residents can access health benefits and prescription drug coverage through the publicly funded prescription drug program. The health plans that are part of this program include:

Supplementary Health Plans

 Prescription Drug Coverage—Non-Group

• Assists residents under the age of 65 with the cost of prescription drugs.  Members pay a monthly premium and a maximum of $25 for each prescription purchased.

Coverage for Seniors

• Covers some or all of the cost of prescription drugs for Albertans 65 years of age and older and their dependants, and for recipients of the Alberta Widows' Pension and their dependants.

Palliative Care Drug Coverage

• Assists with covering the cost of prescription drugs for people in the late stages of a terminal illness who are receiving treatment at home.

Coverage for Albertans with Low Incomes

Income Support

• Covers the cost of prescription drugs, including medications for hepatitis C, for Income Support clients.

Alberta Adult Health Benefit (AAHB)

• Covers the cost of most prescription drugs, including medications for hepatitis C, for people who have low incomes and are either pregnant or have high drug costs with no other drug coverage, and for people who have left the Income Support or Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) programs and require drug coverage. 

Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH)

• Provides health benefits to people under the age of 65 who have a permanent disability that severely affects their ability to earn a livelihood.

Alberta Child Health Benefit

• Provides prescription drug coverage for children of low-income families.

Additional Coverage

Rare Diseases Drug Program

• Helps cover the cost of prescription drugs for people with rare genetic disorders, including Gaucher's disease, Fabry disease, MPS-I (Hurler syndrome), Hunter disease or Pompe disease.

Provincewide Services

• Provides funding for highly specialized procedures and select high-cost drugs but not for hepatitis C medications.

Accessing Hepatitis C Treatment Medication

The amount of coverage people can receive for their hepatitis C medications varies depending on individual prescription drug plans and programs. People who receive Income Support automatically receive health benefits and coverage for prescription drugs. People who have drug benefits through some of the other plans listed above can request coverage for their treatment medications. 

Peg-interferon and ribavirin are among the many drugs included in the Drug Benefit List that are eligible for coverage by Alberta Blue Cross. These hepatitis C medications require special authorization  before they can be covered. To apply for special authorization for these medications, people can request that their specialist complete and submit the Pegetron/Pegasys RBV Special Authorization Form ABC 30932 to Alberta Blue Cross for review against the Special Authorization Guidelines. The request will be evaluated by a clinical pharmacist to determine if a person's hepatitis C medications will be covered through their drug plan. 

People who have previously received coverage for hepatitis C treatment in Alberta may be able to receive a second round of coverage if they have either advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver, have relapsed after non-pegylated interferon/ribavirin combination therapy, or have failed to respond to or have relapsed following interferon monotherapy. The applicant and his or her specialist will receive a letter notifying them about the status of their request for coverage. If approved, coverage may be provided for up to 48 weeks of treatment, depending on an individual's hepatitis C genotype.

If people would like more information about health care or drug plans in Alberta, they can contact the Alberta Health Care Insurance Program (AHCIP) toll-free at 310-0000 then dial (780) 427-1432.

Registered First Nations and recognized Inuit people may be able to access coverage for their hepatitis C treatment medications through the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program.  People can contact NIHB by phone or mail at:

Non-Insured Health Benefits – Alberta Region
First Nations and Inuit Health
Health Canada
9700 Jasper Avenue, Suite 730
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 4C3
Tel: (780) 495-2694
Toll-free: 1-800-232-7301