BC Plan NP: Which MHT Products Are Full vs Partial Benefit

BC PharmaCare's National Pharmacare plan (Plan NP) launched on March 1, 2026, providing automatic pharmacy-counter coverage for menopausal hormone therapy medications for B.C. residents enrolled in the Medical Services Plan, with most listed products fully covered but several brand-name estradiol products flagged as partial benefit.

What Plan NP covers for menopause

Under Plan NP, BC PharmaCare covers six categories of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), with 100% coverage for listed products: oral conjugated estrogen, oral medroxyprogesterone, oral micronized progesterone, vaginal estrogen, topical estrogen and estrogen/progesterone gels and patches, and oral estradiol. Coverage applies regardless of the condition the prescription was written for, and no Special Authority is required for any MHT benefit under Plan NP.

Coverage began March 1, 2026, as confirmed in BC news coverage of the launch. Plan NP dispenses do not count toward the Fair PharmaCare deductible or family maximum.

Full-benefit products by category

The Plan NP benefit list identifies the following fully covered products by DIN:

• Oral micronized progesterone (100 mg capsule): PMS-Progesterone (DIN 2476576), Reddy-Progesterone (2463113), Auro-Progesterone (2493578), Progesterone (2516187), M-Progesterone (2551268).
• Vaginal estrogen: Premarin vaginal cream 0.625 mg/g (DIN 2043440); IMVEXXY 4 mcg insert (2503689) and 10 mcg insert (2503697).
• Oral conjugated estrogen: Premarin ER tablets at 0.3 mg, 0.625 mg and 1.25 mg strengths.
• Topical gels and patches (full benefit): Divigel packets (0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg), Estrogel 1.25 g pump, Climara 25/50/75 patches, Estradot 25 and Estradot 37.5 patches, Sandoz Estradiol Derm 50/75/100 patches, and Estalis 140/50 mcg and 250/50 mcg combination patches.

Consumers tracking progesterone pricing, estradiol gel pricing and vaginal estrogen pricing in other provinces can compare these BC-covered DINs against private-pay provider rates in our database.

Partial-benefit products that may carry a patient cost

Several brand-name products are listed as partial benefit under Plan NP and are subject to Low Cost Alternative (LCA) pricing:

• Estradot 50 mcg (DIN 2244000), Estradot 75 mcg (2244001), and Estradot 100 mcg (2244002) patches.
• PMS-Estradiol oral tablets at 0.5 mg (2225190), 1 mg (2148587), and 2 mg (2148595).
• Provera brand medroxyprogesterone at 2.5 mg (DIN 708917), 5 mg (030937) and 10 mg strengths.

Under LCA, patients prescribed a partial-benefit brand pay the difference between the brand price and the generic reference price unless the prescription is switched to a fully covered equivalent. For estradiol patch pricing and oral estradiol pricing comparisons, Sandoz Estradiol Derm patches at 50/75/100 mcg and Lupin-Estradiol tablets at 0.5/1/2 mg are listed as fully covered equivalents.

Scope limits and other provinces

Plan NP is a provincial plan supported by federal funding; it does not cover residents of other provinces or prescriptions dispensed outside B.C.. Health Canada lists British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Yukon as jurisdictions that have reached national pharmacare funding agreements, with each province or territory responsible for its own covered-product list. Pharmacare does not cover delivery fees or pharmacist prescribing fees.

Readers outside B.C. can review Ontario coverage details or explore online menopause treatment options, and additional pricing and coverage updates are published in our women's health news section.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Sources

• BC PharmaCare Plan NP (National Pharmacare plan)
• Plan NP menopausal hormone therapy
• Menopause meds to be covered by PharmaCare starting March 1
• What's covered by national pharmacare