Kamloops Seniors Village – Assisted Living, Williams Lake Seniors Village – Assisted Living and Group Homes

Kamloops Seniors Village – Assisted Living, Williams Lake Seniors Village – Assisted Living, and many group homes in Kamloops have contracted Kipp-Mallery Pharmacy to provide their pharmacy services, which include:

• Timely processing, packaging and delivery of medications
• Comprehensive medication reviews and medication problem solving
• Dedicated pharmacist for your facility or home
• After-hours number to a pharmacist for medication-related questions or emergency supplies of medication
• We can supply compression socks, ostomy supplies, hip protectors and a wide-variety of other home-health needs for your residents

Medication Coverage:

Residents of group homes and assisted living areas are covered under the Fair PharmaCare plan, or social assistance (Plan C).

Fair PharmaCare:

• This plans provides coverage for BC families (includes you and if applicable your spouse and dependent children) for eligible medications and some medical supplies based on the family’s net income during the calendar year (deductibles reset to zero each January)
• Requires registration to set a family’s deductible. If a family is not registered, then the family’s deductible is set at the maximum amount.  Eligible costs for the current calendar year count towards the deductible, but cannot be reimbursed once registered.
• To be eligible, you must have:
  • A valid BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) coverage, and
  • Filed an income tax return for the relevant taxation year (2 years ago)
• To register, you can do so on-line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or you can call 1-800-663-7100

Non-benefit medications are not covered by PharmaCare and the entire cost of these medications are the responsibility of the resident.  Non-benefit drugs typically include, but is not exclusive to:

• Vitamins
• Laxatives
• Over-the-Counter medications such as:
  • Acetaminophen
  • Tums
  • Rub A535
  • Cough and cold items
  • Eye drops for dry eyes etc.
  • Antifungals such as clotrimazole, miconazole, and nystatin
• Newly released medications that have not yet received coverage from PharmaCare

Plan C:

Plan C covers the full cost of eligible prescription drugs and designated medical supplies.  With Plan C coverage, there are no deductibles that need to be paid and as long as the medication or designated medical supply is a benefit, there is full coverage.  Some medications are also partial benefits and some are non-benefits (or not covered at all).  If a medication is a partial benefit, PharmaCare will pay part of the medication cost and the resident is responsible for part of the cost, and if a medication is a non-benefit, then the patient is responsible for the entire cost of the prescription.

Alternate Coverage:

If you or your family member have any of the following, please contact us as soon as possible to ensure we have all of the appropriate coverage information:

• NIHB – status coverage
• DVA – Veteran’s coverage
• RCMP
• WCB/ICBC Coverage
• Extended Health Plans
• Any other medical plans that provide prescription coverage

Special Authority Coverage:

A Special Authority is a level of special coverage that can only be applied for by the patient’s doctor or specialist, that may cover some non-benefit prescription medications.  Some prescription medications will have a set of criteria that allows them to have coverage if a special authority is in place.  If a patient does not meet all the criteria, PharmaCare will deny the special authority application and the medication will remain a non-benefit.  To see if a medication is available for a special authority, please see the following website:

http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/pharmacare/prescribers/special-authority

Medication Orders:

All medications, whether they are prescription items or over-the-counter items, require an order from the resident’s doctor or specialist.  Once the order is received from the physician or specialist, then pharmacy will fill and deliver these to the facility.

All re-ordering of medications is done by nursing staff when supplies run low.  Once the request is received by the pharmacy, the medication is filled and sent to the group home or assisted living unit.

Patient Accounts:

Each patient in a group home or assisted living unit will have a pharmacy charge account.  Any medication that has only partial payment from PharmaCare, or is a non-benefit, will be charged to the patient’s account.  Other items that may also be charged to these accounts include home health supplies such as hip protectors, or compression stockings, and any other items requested from the front store.

Statements of these accounts are sent out once a month for payment, either directly to the resident/person financially responsible or to the facility.  Payments should be made to the pharmacy each month.  For any account over 60 days in arrears, the pharmacy reserves the right to withhold the dispensing of any medication requiring payment from the resident.  If you are having difficulty with your account and would like to explore a payment plan, please contact our accounting department at 250-372-2531, option #5.  If you would like to explore options for alternative medications that may be covered, please contact our long-term care department at 250-372-2531, option #3.

Payment options include:

• In-store (cash, cheque, debit and credit card)
• Mail Payment (cheque)
• Credit Card Payments via phone, or left on file in the pharmacy for monthly processing
• Telephone, in-branch or internet bank payments
  • Use the account number located on your monthly statement
  • If paying for more than one account, please set up a separate bill payment for each individual account
  • The following is a list of banks that will be able to process your payment:
    • Bank of Montreal
    • CIBC
    • Credit Union (Central 1)
    • Royal Bank
    • Scotiabank
    • TD Canada Trust