Pharmacare is the Government of Manitoba drug benefit program for eligible Manitobans, regardless of disease or age. The Pharmacare year is from April 1 to March 31 and the deductible is recalculated every year.
Did you know you can request your Pharmacare Deductible be adjusted if your income has decreased?
Pharmacare coverage is based on both your total family income and the amount you pay for eligible prescription drugs.
Each year you are required to pay a portion of the cost of your eligible prescription drugs. This amount is your annual Pharmacare deductible. Pharmacare sets your deductible based on your adjusted family income.
The deductible ranges from three to seven percent of your total family income. The lower your total family income the lower the percentage.
The Manitoba Health Pharmacare letters should arrive during the month of April, giving you information about what your Pharmacare deductible is for the 2025/2026 year.
The deductible is based on your 2023 personal income taxes. Pharmacare cannot use the 2024 taxes since many Manitobans have not yet filed.
Because the Pharmacare year is from April 1 to March 31, you begin to pay for your own prescriptions every April 1 and then when you reach your deductible, Pharmacare pays for the eligible prescriptions until March 31 the following year.
If you do not receive a letter, you may not have applied (or maybe you changed your address?). I recommend every family apply now. You will need to at some point in your life (we normally buy more prescription drugs as we get older). You can find the application form on the Manitoba Pharmacare website; it is easy to complete.
Reduce Your Deductible
If your 2025 family income will be reduced by greater than 10% from your 2023 total family income, you can request the deductible be reduced. There is an application form to be completed, and proof of your reduced income may be needed if your 2025 income is different from your 2024 income.
I help individuals and couples throughout the year complete this form and get it into Pharmacare. If your income in 2025 will be much lower than it was in 2023, I recommend you complete the form and get it into Pharmacare as soon as possible.
The most common reason for a reduction in income is retirement, but it can also be semi-retirement (reduction in employment income) or other reduced income. Even in retirement, your income may drop if you no longer have RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) or RRIFs (Registered Retirement Income Fund); or other sources of taxable income may have dropped.
You can send in the request to reduce your Pharmacare deductible at any time, but the sooner the better.
Deductible Instalment Payment Program
Another little-known program within Pharmacare is the Deductible Instalment Payment Program.
The Deductible Instalment Payment Program for Pharmacare helps reduce financial hardship for individuals and families whose eligible drug costs are a significant portion of their monthly family income. In some cases, a single prescription can be as much and sometimes more than a family’s annual deductible amount.
The Payment Program is an option for eligible Manitobans to pay their annual Pharmacare deductible in monthly instalments. This option will give those who have high monthly drug costs compared to their monthly income a way to pay their Pharmacare deductible in interest-free monthly instalments as part of their monthly Manitoba Hydro energy bill.
The financing program is administered by Manitoba Health. The role of Manitoba Hydro is to withdraw monthly payments from your bank account.
To be considered for the program, applicants and/or their families must have eligible Pharmacare specified drug costs over a 30-day period that are equal to or above 20 per cent of their average monthly adjusted family income.
If your prescription costs are high and you reach your Pharmacare Deductible fairly quickly, I recommend you check out the option of the Deductible Installment Payment Program. If you already have a Hydro account (pay hydro monthly) it will be added to your current bill. If you do not have a Hydro account (you rent and do not pay hydro yourself), you will need to apply.
If you need more information, you can contact Pharmacare directly or drop into our office and see me.
Get your taxes filed!
A quick reminder that if you have not yet filed your taxes, get them completed as soon as possible. The deadline for most taxpayers is April 30. Those that are self-employed and their spouses have a deadline of June 15.
Don’t be late filing your taxes if you owe. The penalty is 5% of the amount owing plus 1% for each month you are late. And if it’s not the first time you are late, the penalties are even worse!
Even if you do not have all your info to file by the deadline, file it with estimated amounts. You can always adjust later.
Anni Markmann is a Personal Income Tax Professional and Certified Financial Planner; living, working, and volunteering in our community. Contact Ste Anne Tax Service at 204.422.6631 or 36 Dawson Road in Ste Anne (near Clearview Co-op) or Info@SteAnneTaxService.ca