Kamloops advocate applauds province for covering opioid agonist treatment but questions its impact

Jun 14, 2023 | 4:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — The province of British Columbia has become the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide universal coverage for eligible medications used for the treatment of opioid-use disorder. Opioid agonist treatment medications will be covered through Plan Z, the province’s universal coverage plan, providing full coverage for B.C. residents with an active medical services plan.

Opioid agonist treatment also referred to as medication-assisted treatment, is an option for people struggling with opioid-use disorder, through the prescription of drugs like methadone.

Troylana Manson with Moms Stop the Harm in Kamloops was happy to see the step taken by the province, but questioned how many people it will help.

“[It’s] about 1,600 people who this new announcement is going to affect. So, 1,600 people out of 100,000 people who are on one kind of opioid or another. It is a very small drop in the bucket to where we need to go but I am thankful for this,” said Manson.

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Manson did state that, through making the option more accessible, more people may choose to utilize it as a way to get help. She expects that the more than 1,600 people who will be benefiting from the start are mostly working class citizens and therefore the average Kamloops resident won’t notice an impact of this change.

“We have people who are in our homes, who are now getting a green light that they can access some sort of help. This is not for people we visually see in downtown Kamloops or the Downtown Eastside or Prince George, the Kootenays or wherever. These are people who are at home, working, struggling and now they have a little bit of a green light for them.”

by Michael Reeve

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Kamloops advocate applauds province for covering opioid agonist treatment but questions its impact

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