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Ministry Programs

Ontario Drug Benefit Program

Publicly Funded Drug Programs

Each year 2.8 million people receive $3.8 billion in drug benefits from Ontario Public Drug Programs. This coverage is provided through four provincial drug plans :

• Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program
  Drug benefits for Ontarians aged 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes and homes for special care, recipients of professional home services and social assistance and recipients of the Trillium Drug Program.
• Trillium Drug Program
  Drug benefits to Ontario residents that have high drug costs in relation to their household income. Any Ontario resident that does not qualify under any of the other plans can apply for the Trillium Drug Program.
• Special Drugs Program
  Drug benefits for Ontarians with a valid Health Card for certain expensive outpatient drugs used to treat specific diseases or conditions.
• New Drug Funding Program for Cancer Care
  Drug Benefits for newer, intravenous drugs, typically administered in hospitals and cancer care facilities. The Ministry provides about 75% of the overall funding for intravenous cancer drugs in Ontario and hospitals fund the remaining 25% through their operating budgets.
• Inherited Metabolic Diseases Program
  Benefits for Ontarians with a valid Health Card for certain outpatient drugs, supplements and specialty foods used in the treatment of specific metabolic disorders.
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prophylaxis for High-Risk Infants Program
  Funds a drug for Ontario infants who are at high risk for hospitalization and complications from a Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection.

These publicly funded programs account for 45 per cent of total prescription drug costs in Ontario. Drugs funded through Ontario Public Drug Programs are listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary/Comparative Drug Index (Formulary) or funded through the Exceptional Access program.

If you would like to find out more about Ontario Public Drug Programs and how decisions are made, please visit the Health Care Providers section of this site. While the site is technical in nature and geared to a professional audience, you are welcome to explore the in-depth information that is available. A Glossary (PDF) is provided to explain commonly used terms.

To view PDF format files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer.
You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.