EDMONTON — Yesterday, the Alberta government quietly changed the maximum prescription drug co-payment for Alberta seniors, without so much as a formal announcement. Seniors currently pay up to $25 per prescription, which is set to increase by a dollar each month to a maximum of $35 per prescription by April 1, 2026.
“We’re just a few days out from Seniors Week, and the government has decided to show their appreciation for Alberta seniors by sneakily implementing cost hikes for their medications,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “The fact that the government decided to announce this decision quietly via a memo, without any consultation or notice, shows that they are hoping to get away with this without Albertans noticing.”
Avoidable hospitalizations as a result of people being unable to afford to take their medications as prescribed cost health care systems in Canada an average of $1,488 per patient per year. Albertans already pay some of the highest drug costs in the world, and almost one-quarter of people across the country are currently unable to afford to take their medications as prescribed.
“These are short-sighted changes that won’t meaningfully lower ever-increasing drug costs, and will only serve to make life-saving medications more unaffordable for seniors,” said Gallaway. “It’s shameful. If this government were truly interested in lowering drug costs for Albertans and for our public health care system, they would support national Pharmacare. But despite a mountain of evidence that shows that a national, universal, single-payer drug plan is the best way to improve access and lower costs, the Alberta government chose to opt us out of the national Pharmacare deal even before any details were publicly announced.”
These changes to seniors’ drug coverage follows another announcement earlier this year, when the government quietly cut eye care coverage, which also disproportionately impacted seniors. While changes in the Continuing Care Act implemented in 2024 allowed for care operators to increase subsidized resident charges by up to 3.8% every year.
“Alberta seniors deserve so much better than what they’re getting. Whether it be eye care, continuing care, home care, or medications, this government has continually made life more expensive for seniors and their families. The last thing they need right now is yet another out-of-pocket cost making it harder and harder to afford their medications or any other care services they need,” concluded Gallaway.
Friends of Medicare encourages Albertans to urge the provincial government to support the implementation and expansion of universal, single-payer Pharmacare.
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