The Ontario Drug Benefit plan is getting some changes, which will see more than 170,000 seniors become newly eligible for the low-income seniors program.
As a result, they will save, on average, about $130 on average per year in out-of-pocket drug costs, and almost half-a-million Ontario seniors will pay no deductible and only a co-payments of up to $2 per prescription.
Starting in August, the province has proposed to increase the income thresholds to qualify the low-income seniors benefit to less than or equal to $19,300 for single seniors, up from $16,018 and below. For senior couples, the number will go up to $32,300, up from $24,174 and below.
These new thresholds are aligned with the Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System and will be indexed to ensure they remain aligned in future benefit years.
“With the number of seniors in Ontario expected to double within the next 25 years, it’s important we acknowledge the needs of an aging population,” says Mario Sergio, minister responsible for seniors affairs. “(These) changes to the Ontario Drug Benefit Program will make drugs more affordable for many seniors on fixed incomes.”
In addition to changes to benefit low-income seniors, the 2016 budget also included proposed changes to drug cost contributions by non-low income seniors.
Over the past month, the province has consulted with Ontarians on these proposed changes and received feedback from seniors and representative organizations. Based on this feedback, the government is pausing the planned increases to drug cost contributions from seniors who are not low-income.
Beginning this year, the government will continue to consult on the correct income thresholds for an improved Ontario Drug Benefit, with a view to creating a fair, sustainable system that remains among the most generous in Canada.
