What is Manitoba Parmacare?

Manitoba Pharmacare is a prescription drug benefit program for eligible Manitobans, regardless of disease or age. This benefit can help to cover the cost of prescription drugs.

Once you have spent a certain amount each year on medication (deductible), eligible prescription costs will be covered. The deductible amount is based on total family income and number of dependents.

You qualify for the Manitoba Pharmacare program if you meet the following criteria:

• You are eligible for Manitoba Health.
• Other provincial or federal programs do not cover your prescriptions. 

There are two ways to apply to the Manitoba Pharmacare Program:

Option A – One-Time Enrolment

Option B – Annual Application (The One-Time Enrollment makes it so you don’t have to keep applying each year).

I would suggest choosing Option A: One Time Program Enrolment when applying. Because by choosing this option you will get a reassessed deductible in the mail each year.

With ‘Option B: Annual Application’ you must reapply each year.

The deductible must be met each calendar year before the coverage kicks in. Pharmacare sets your deductible based on your adjusted family income.

Deductible Calculator

The Pharmacare deductible is calculated as follows:

• The total income is determined from line 15000 of your 2021 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Notice of Assessment.
• The applicant’s total income is added to the total income of a spouse (if applicable).
• If you and your spouse elected to split pension income, the line 150 amount is reduced by the split pension amount indicated on line 210 to ensure the pension income transferred is not included twice in a family’s total income.
• $3,000 is subtracted from the total income for a spouse and for each dependent under the age of 18 years. This amount equals the Adjusted Total Family Income.

The Adjusted Total Family Income is multiplied by the corresponding percentage rate in the chart below to determine the Pharmacare deductible.

For example, if my income was $28000 and I had one child, my deductible would be:

($28000 – $3000) * 0.0499  =  $1247.50

The minimum deductible for Pharmacare is $100. Once the deductible is met, Pharmacare will pay 100% of eligible prescription drug expenses.

An adjustment can be made to the Pharmacare deductible if a family’s income is reduced by more than 10% in the calendar year. In this case, the attached ‘Worksheet Form,’ should be filled out and submitted to the address below.

Worksheet Form

To apply to the Pharmacare program a ‘Pharmacare Application and a Consent Authorization’ form must be completed and sent to the address below:

Pharmacare Application and a Consent Authorization

You can also visit the link below for more information:

https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/pharmacare/index.html