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Treatment coverage in your region

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Prescription Drug Programs in Newfoundland and Labrador

The Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program (NLPDP) may be able to help you pay for your prescription drugs. 

The NLPDP offers four drug plans:

The Foundation Plan

  • Pays for your prescription drugs, including medications for hepatitis C, if you get Income Support Benefits (ISB).

The 65Plus Plan

  • Pays for your prescription drugs if you're 65 years of age or older and you get Old Age Security (OAS) benefits and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

The Access Plan

  • Helps low-income families and individuals by paying for some or all of the cost of prescription drugs. 

The Assurance Plan

  • Helps pay for part of the cost of your prescription drugs if they're really expensive, like hepatitis C medications. The amount of help you can get depends on how much money you make.
Getting My Hepatitis C Medications

The amount of help you can get to pay for your hepatitis C medications depends on your drug plan. If you have hepatitis C, you may want to look into the Access Plan or the Assurance Plan because these plans help people cover the cost of expensive drugs. You can always call the NLPDP to see which plan is best for you. If you get Income Support Benefits (ISB), you can get your meds paid for through the Foundation Plan listed above. 

No matter what drug plan you have, you will need to get your hepatitis C medications approved before they can be covered by your drug plan. To do this, you can ask your doctor to fill in a Special Authorization Request Form and send it to the Department of Health and Community Services. The department will send a letter to you and your doctor telling you if you will get help paying for your medications. If your application is approved, you can get your treatment medications at the pharmacy by showing your NLPDP health card.

If you would like more information about the different drug plans in Newfoundland and Labrador, you can contact the Department of Health and Community Services by calling (709) 753-3615.

If you are a registered First Nations or recognized Inuit person, the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program may be able to help cover the cost of your hepatitis C medications. You can contact NIHB by phone or mail at:

Non-Insured Health Benefits – Atlantic Region
First Nations and Inuit Health
Health Canada
Suite 1525, 15th Floor, Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3Y6
                                                                                                                 Tel: (902) 426-2656
Toll-free: 1-800-565-3294

 
Costs and Coverage for Treatment in Canada  

Some national programs in Canada are available to help people with drug costs.

Peg-Care & Pegassist

Two of the pharmaceutical companies that make Hep C medications have programs to help people complete treatment. Merck has the Peg-Care program for people taking peg-interferon alpha-2b (known as Pegetron). Hoffman-La Roche has the Pegassist program for people taking peg-interferon alpha-2a (known as Pegasys).

These programs both have 24-hour phone support for people taking Hep C treatment; part of this support is helping people access the funding necessary to cover treatment costs. They can inform you about local, provincial and federal government programs for accessing treatment. They can also help you find ways to access and use public funding or private medical insurance, including the appeals process if you have a supportive doctor. If you are eligible, they can even help cover the insurance company co-pay fee, provincial or territorial plan's deductible and other expenses, depending on your specific situation.

For more information, contact:

 Pegassist Program

 1-877-PEGASYS (1-877-734-2797)

 Peg-Care Program

 1-866-872-5773

Revised 2011.