Two new reproductive health programs in B.C. are not just popular, they’re positioning the province as a national leader in access and innovation.
The number of women using intrauterine devices (IUDs) has jumped 49 per cent since the NDP government began covering 100 per cent of the cost in April 2023, according to a new study this week from the University of B.C.
IUDs are considered 10 times more effective contraceptives than pills or condoms, but were prohibitively expensive at up to $450 privately. The NDP bet that covering the cost under PharmaCare would let more women access better-quality contraceptives. They were right, according to study author and UBC assistant professor Laura Schummers.
"This really tells us that there was a substantial cost-related barrier to using contraception as a whole," Schummers told CBC News.
Not only that, but the government decision to cover the cost of most other contraceptives (including injectables and pills) drove up prescriptions for all types of birth control, according to the study published in The BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.
Expanding coverage of birth control options like IUDs was a promise the NDP made in the 2020 election campaign, and brought online in 2023. It has dovetailed with expanding the scope of pharmacists, who can now prescribe contraceptives for people who can’t access a doctor.
The full program for free contraceptives costs around $35 million annually for 353,000 people—a minuscule amount in the overall $40-billion health budget, but with significant life-improving benefits for many women.
Much of that cost is covered by Ottawa, as part of a fortunate situation B.C. found itself in with the federal government. It was one of four provinces to sign pharmacare deals with the previous Justin Trudeau government before the change to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has paused deals with other provinces.
Another, more recent, election promise on women’s reproductive health is also apparently having a major impact.
Health-care providers are reporting huge interest in the government’s new in-vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage as well.
Covering the cost of one round of IVF was a 2024 NDP election promise, and came online July 1.
The Olive Fertility Clinic told CTV News that it had 500 women in its single clinic already apply for the program. Demand is likely to outstrip available funding.
IVF funding can be expensive, and government did not make coverage universal like IUDs. Instead, it implemented income eligibility, with contributions of $19,000 for households with a combined pre-tax income of under $100,000 and a sliding scale from there that ends at $250,000.
The sliding-scale income model is a reasonable approach to stretch funding, but the age cap at 41 already feels a bit outdated. Women are increasingly interested in having a baby in their 40s, and the provincial program fails to recognize that.
“A lot of our patients come in their early 40s [and] won’t qualify,” Dr. Beth Taylor told CTV.
Still, it seems like something government could fix over time. It could also expand coverage to other areas of reproductive health like egg freezing and sperm donation. We’ll see.
B.C.’s IVF program is one of the better ones in Canada, in line with Ontario and Quebec. Some provinces like Alberta don’t offer any funding. And some like Manitoba only offer tax credits.
The success of the two programs stands out nationally to the point that AccessBC, which had been lobbying the province for the changes, pivoted Tuesday into a national letter-writing campaign to encourage Ottawa to bring other provinces under the initiative that has been successful in B.C.
The BC NDP government is juggling its fair share of controversies at the moment. But in reproductive health, it has so far actually delivered. And that deserves credit.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for The Orca/BIV. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
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