Manulife Won't Cover Specialty Drugs For Some People Anymore Unless It's From Loblaws
The medications treat "complex, chronic, or life-threatening" conditions.
The exterior of a Shoppers Drug Mart.
Canadians who have insurance with Manulife may need to swap pharmacies in order for their medication to be covered.
According to details obtained by The Canadian Press, 260 medications that fall under Manulife's Specialty Drug Care program are being transitioned to be "primarily delivered" at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Companies.
Why you should care: If you have coverage with Manulife and are a new claimant for any of the 260 drugs as of January 22, 2024, Manulife won’t cover them under its benefit plans unless they’re given out at Loblaw-owned stores, says a release from Manulife.
If you have coverage with Manulife through their voluntary Specialty Drug Care and have previously claimed the medication at a different pharmacy, you may be able to stay with that pharmacy, although they encourage people to make the switch to Loblaw-owned pharmacies.
"If your group has a mandatory Specialty Drug Care plan, your employees will be notified in advance of the transition to Shoppers Drug Mart/Loblaw Companies," says Manulife.
What they’re saying: "We feel the relationship with Shoppers Drug Mart/Loblaw Companies is the right next step in the on-going evolution of Manulife’s Specialty Drug Care, a program that is even more important as Canadians deal with ever-increasing complexities and costs associated with the medications they use," says Manulife.
ICYMI: Manulife's Specialty Drug Care program helps people who have been prescribed specialty drugs that are often expensive and difficult for a patient to administer and store.
"The conditions treated with specialty drugs are complex, chronic, or life-threatening, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis, and hepatitis C," says Manulife.
Narcity reached out to Loblaw and Manulife for comment.
"We would recommend reaching out to Manulife directly, as it is their program," Loblaw Public Relations said in an email.
Narcity did not hear back from Manulife by the time of publishing.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.