Medicines Access Coalition - BC

(formerly the better pharmacare coalition)

The Medicines Access Coalition – BC brings together patient organizations from across BC and Canada to be a dominant and        unified voice to bring awareness, education, attention, and change             as necessary to improve access to medicines, leading to improved    health outcomes for the people of BC. 

What We Do

As a coalition, we interact with many stakeholders who participate or influence the decisions directly affecting the access to medicines including, policy makers, government, researchers, academics, health practitioners, public and private health payers, benefit managers/consultants, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and others who play a role in the access to medicines.

We are raising awareness of medicine access issues, providing training and education to our members (and non-members), developing resources, delivering stakeholder activities, conducting research, providing education, supporting our members’ activities, and are active in advocacy.

We work collectively towards maintaining and improving access to medications, medical technologies, and medical devices and ensuring that health policy decisions focus on patient needs and outcomes. We represent a strong and unified patient voice safeguarding the health and well-being of patients, that health outcomes are prioritized, and that the pursuit of cost containment does not cause harm to people when it comes to decisions on medicines.

2025 British Columbia Medication Coverage Report - Building a Path Toward Equity

                                                                                                  CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REPORT 

In January 2024, the Gastrointestinal Society, a member of the MedAccessBC Coalition, unveiled a groundbreaking analysis shedding light on the concerning inequity in British Columbia’s public drug plan. The findings underscore that    BC not only allocates the least per capita but also provides coverage for fewer prescription medicines compared with all other provinces in Canada.

The 2025 British Columbia Medication Coverage Report – Building a Path Toward Equity, provides an update on the advocacy and awareness efforts. This report, which was produced by the Gastrointestinal (GI) Society, a member of MedAccess BC, highlights the limited changes that have taken place to ensure equitable coverage of lifesaving and life-altering treatments for patients in BC over the past year. 

The report also emphasizes that opportunities for improving access to therapies will be limited by a PharmaCare budget that will remain stagnant over the next three years while all other parts of the health system receive increased investment.

For additional information about please click here.

Member Organizations

aHUS Canada

ALS Action Canada

BC Coalition of Osteoporosis Physicians

BC Hepatitis Network

BC Lung Foundation 

BC Lymphedema Association

BC Schizophrenia Society

Canadian Arthritis Patients Alliance

Canadian Cancer Society

Canadian Cancer Survivor Network

Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders

Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

Canadian Skin Patient Alliance

Canadian Society of Intestinal Research

Canadian Sponyloarthritis Association

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada

Cure SMA Canada

Diabetes Canada

Eczema Society of Canada

Gastrointestinal Society

Heartlife Foundation

Kidney Cancer Canada

Kidney Foundation of Canada

Migraine Canada

Mood Disorders/Lookout Society

MS Canada

Obesity Canada

Osteoporosis Canada

Pain BC

Parkinson Society of British Columbia

Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada

Psoriasis Canada

Pulmonary Hypertension Association of Canada

Save Your Skin Foundation

Tumour Foundation of BC