At a time when residents are feeling financial pressures due to COVID-19, the provincial NDP is pushing the Saskatchewan government to provide relief for seniors and low-income residents when it comes to prescription costs.

Vicki Mowat, health critic for the Saskatchewan NDP, suggests the government should cover additional costs in their drug plans.

“People in this province shouldn’t be making decisions about whether they can afford to take their medication because of extra dispensing fees,” stated Mowat in a release on Tuesday.

“It’s time the government puts people first and makes sure that those who can least afford additional costs are taken care of.”

She noted that residents are only able to fill one month of their prescription at a time in order to avoid situations where people are stockpiling medications. It translates to additional fees that have to be paid at pharmacies.

“For low-income people and seniors, this is a huge additional cost, without any additional income. People in Saskatchewan are on incomes that are stretched thin as it is and they can’t afford to have a government continue to let them down.”

Mowat mentioned those costs have increased from $25 to $75.

The NDP says provinces like Alberta have reduced the co-pay fee in seniors’ and non-group plans from $25 to $8 per prescription. In Manitoba, the government is removing the one-month supply limit on prescription drugs that was established in March.