Does BC PharmaCare cover Ozempic?
Yes, for type 2 diabetes, through Special Authority once metformin at the highest dose you can take hasn't controlled your blood sugar. BC PharmaCare covers semaglutide up to 1 mg a week. It doesn't cover Ozempic (semaglutide) or Wegovy for weight loss, as of 12 October 2026.
- Every GLP‑1 medicine is a prescription drug in Canada. A doctor, nurse practitioner or other authorized prescriber must assess you first.1
- Prices here are official list or formulary prices, with the date we checked them. We never quote a pharmacy's, clinic's or savings card's price, and we don't name or rank sellers.
- Canadian law bans advertising a drug to the public as a treatment for obesity or diabetes. This page is information, not an ad, and nothing here is for sale. The risks are in Guide 5: Side effects and risks.
What are the Special Authority rules?
BC PharmaCare covers semaglutide "after inadequate glycemic control on maximum tolerated doses of metformin", and your prescriber applies for Special Authority.2
The page, updated 21 April 2026, sets these limits:2
- coverage up to 1 mg a week, in a pen made to give 1 mg doses; the 2 mg dose is "currently under review";
- two 0.5 mg doses from a 0.5 mg pen aren't covered, because they cost about double;
- coverage is for semaglutide or a DPP‑4 inhibitor, not both.
Requests can be approved automatically when submitted online and the criteria are met.2
Does the new national pharmacare plan cover Ozempic?
No. BC's Plan NP, launched on 1 March 2026, pays 100% of several diabetes medicines, but semaglutide isn't on its list.3
Plan NP covers insulins, metformin, glyburide, gliclazide, dapagliflozin and empagliflozin in full, plus some others with Special Authority. It pays for listed medicines whatever they were prescribed for.3 Semaglutide stays under regular PharmaCare rules, with Special Authority.2 If you already have Special Authority for a DPP‑4 inhibitor, approval for semaglutide ends that coverage.2
What about Wegovy and Mounjaro in BC?
BC PharmaCare lists Wegovy as a "Non-benefit" (December 2025), and Mounjaro was still under review in 2026.4,5
That followed Canada's Drug Agency's July 2025 advice to fund Wegovy only for people with established heart disease, and only at a lower price.6 Its Wegovy decision also says the ministry will review generic semaglutide "for all approved indications" once those products are on the market.4 For Mounjaro, BC asked for public input from 25 February to 24 March 2026, a step in its review rather than a decision.5 BC also limits sales of these medicines to non-residents.7 Ontario's rules are in Does OHIP cover Ozempic? and every province's in Guide 6.
- Stomach effects are very common. In the diabetes trials on the Canadian Ozempic monograph, 17 in 100 people on 0.5 mg and 20 in 100 on 1 mg felt sick (nausea), against 6 in 100 on comparison treatments.8
- Low blood sugar can happen when semaglutide is taken with a sulfonylurea, such as gliclazide, or with insulin.8
- Diabetic eye disease. In one trial, eye complications of diabetes occurred in 3.0 in 100 people on Ozempic and 1.8 in 100 on placebo.8
- Who shouldn't take it. Not for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2. Stop it at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy.8
Read the full picture
Related questions
Sources
- Health Canada. Drug Product Database: product records and marketing status for semaglutide and tirzepatide products (for example Ozempic DIN 02471469 "Marketed"; Sevmia DIN 02569582 "Approved", not marketed; Zepbound first marketed 9 July 2025). Searched 12 Oct 2026. health-products.canada.ca
- BC PharmaCare. Limited coverage criteria: semaglutide, last updated 21 Apr 2026 ("After inadequate glycemic control on maximum tolerated doses of metformin"; Special Authority "for up to a maximum dose of 1 mg weekly"; "The 2 mg dose is currently under review"; coverage for semaglutide or a DPP-4 inhibitor, not both). gov.bc.ca
- BC PharmaCare. Plan NP (National Pharmacare plan), last updated 29 Jun 2026 (launched 1 Mar 2026; covers 100% of listed diabetes medicines: insulins, metformin, glyburide, gliclazide, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin; semaglutide is not on the list). gov.bc.ca
- BC PharmaCare. Drug coverage decision: semaglutide (Wegovy), 18 Dec 2025 ("Non-benefit"; Novo Nordisk "would no longer be seeking public coverage of Wegovy in Canada"; pCPA negotiations concluded without agreement on 1 Dec 2025). gov.bc.ca (PDF)
- BC PharmaCare. Drug information: tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for type 2 diabetes, "being considered for coverage"; public input 25 Feb to 24 Mar 2026. gov.bc.ca (PDF)
- Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC). Semaglutide (Wegovy) reimbursement recommendation SR0841, July 2025 ("Reimburse with conditions" only for adults with "a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established CVD"; "at least a 5% reduction in BMI or total body weight" to continue after year 1; "A price reduction of 67% would be required"; "approximately $5,066 per patient per year"). canjhealthtechnol.ca
- BC Ministry of Health. News release, 17 Jul 2025 (updated 23 Jul 2025): "limits on sale" regulation now covers tirzepatide and dulaglutide as well as semaglutide (since April 2023); pharmacists "will not be able to sell" them to people "who are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and who are not at the pharmacy in person", but can sell in person to non-Canadians "who have a valid prescription signed by a Canadian doctor or nurse practitioner". news.gov.bc.ca
- Novo Nordisk Canada. Ozempic (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, 13 Jul 2026 (made "by recombinant DNA technology in Saccharomyces cerevisiae"; storage: before first use 2–8 °C, after first use 8 weeks below 30 °C or refrigerated, "Do not freeze… do not use… if it has been frozen", keep the cap on; adverse reactions Table 2: nausea 17.0% on 0.5 mg and 19.9% on 1 mg vs 6.3% on comparator; low blood sugar with a sulfonylurea or insulin; retinopathy complications 3.0% vs 1.8%; stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy; disposal and Canada Vigilance wording). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error
How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official list or formulary prices, never a seller's, savings-card or coupon price, and we don't name or rank sellers. Availability, coverage and recall facts are dated because they change. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice, and not an advertisement for any medicine. Talk to a doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write