Info for accessing HRT coverage whilst being low income
Hi I want to share some information on how to get coverage for HRT in BC.
(Sharing because though I was always low income since accessing HRT, none of my doctors or ministry workers informed me of how to attain coverage, or that it was even an option)
So, if you are low income and haven’t already, I HIGHLY recommend getting signed up with BC’s Fair Pharmacare plan. It is free and can be done very easily online. Link here https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare-for-bc-residents/who-we-cover/fair-pharmacare-plan
Once you’ve been approved there it opens up a lot of potential for partial or full coverage of certain types of HRT. Coverage amount depends on what it is you are accessing and what your income is.
T, Min and Fin are all partially to fully covered. Minoxidil is automatically covered. Fin and T(injection) require something called special authority approval, and to get that you need a physician to request it. There is an easy access eForm that physicians have access to in order to do this. Approval of special authority takes a few weeks, and is not able to be applied retroactively.
Listed here is also the pharmacare formulatory search, which allows you to search whatever med you’re curious about being covered. The answers will list many things including how much $ per dose is covered, and whether or not it requires special authority. https://pharmacareformularysearch.gov.bc.ca/Search.xhtml
I hope this is helpful to yall! If you have questions the first link should answer a lot of them but feel free to drop them in the comments too. If you have any info yourself about other relevant info or adjacent programs feel free to share as well.
Cheers!