BC just lost its last two excuses not to cover the pill that prevents HIV

New proposal would cover 5,000 PrEP prescriptions by 2019

One of the province’s most respected HIV/AIDS specialists has publicly announced that coverage for an effective HIV-prevention drug doesn’t have to cost BC taxpayers a dime.

Julio Montaner, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, told a room full of doctors and activists Nov 6, 2017, that his centre has negotiated a deal with generic drug manufacturers that could deliver the treatment without swelling the budget.

“The message is, we’re ready,” Montaner told Xtra following his announcement. “It’s time to do this.”

During this year’s provincial election, now-Premier John Horgan said it was “a mystery” why coverage wasn’t already provided for PrEP, a treatment that effectively eliminates the risk of contracting HIV. But since forming government, the NDP have stalled, citing costs and a need for more review from the Centre for Excellence.

Montaner’s announcement undermines the government’s case for stalling, leaving HIV/AIDS activists and health care professionals wondering what the province is waiting for.

“The ball is pretty firmly in the province’s court now,” says Jody Jollimore, managing director of the Community Based Research Centre in Vancouver.

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is one of the most promising new tools for HIV prevention. Studies show that people who take the pill every day are at almost no risk of contracting HIV.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below