Premium Payable Under the Québec Prescription Drug Insurance Plan

If you have a health insurance card issued by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), you are required to be covered by one of the following plans:

a private group insurance plan that provides basic prescription drug insurance, if you have access to one;
Québec's public prescription drug insurance plan, if you do not have access to a group insurance plan.

To be covered by the public prescription drug insurance plan, you have to register with the RAMQ.

You are 18 to 25 years old

If you are a full-time student (at the secondary or post-secondary level) between the ages of 18 and 25 and you have the option of being covered by a parent's group insurance plan, you are required to take it and inform the RAMQ.

For more information, see Turning 18 and End or interruption of studies on the RAMQ website.

You are 65 or over

When you turn 65, you are automatically registered for the public prescription drug insurance plan.

However, if you remain eligible for a private plan offering prescription drug coverage, you can opt out of the public plan and cancel your registration.

Coverage under a complementary insurance plan does not replace basic coverage under the public drug insurance plan. For your medications to be covered, you will need to pay a premium under the public plan in addition to the premium you pay your insurer for your complementary plan.

For more information, see Turning 65 on the RAMQ website.

Once you are registered for the public prescription drug insurance plan, you have to pay an annual premium when you file your income tax return, regardless of whether you purchased any medication. If you are in a situation where you do not have to pay the premium, you must let us know by completing Schedule K and filing it with your income tax return.

If you had insurance that does not provide basic prescription drug coverage (for example, a complementary insurance plan that reimbursed only expenses other than the cost of drugs covered by the public plan), you must pay a premium under the public plan.

The table below shows whether you have to pay a premium depending on your coverage.

Québec public prescription drug insurance plan	Insurance plan that does not provide basic prescription drug coverage (complementary insurance¹)	Group insurance plan² providing basic prescription drug coverage³
You must pay a premium under the public plan.	You must pay a premium under the public plan.	You do not have to pay a premium under the public plan.
Complementary insurance coverage does not replace basic coverage under the public plan. It simply covers expenses the public plan does not. The RAMQ uses the term “private plan.” If you sign up for a group insurance plan that provides basic prescription drug insurance coverage, contact the RAMQ to cancel your registration for the public plan.

You can include the premium payable under the public plan in calculating the refundable tax credit for medical expenses (provided the period you use to determine the amount of medical expenses includes December 31 of the year for which the premium is payable). To claim the tax credit, you must complete Schedule B of the income tax return and file it with your return.

The maximum premium for 2023 is $720.50 (per spouse in the case of a couple). To calculate the premium, complete Schedule K. Completing and sending us Schedule K does not mean you are registering for the Québec prescription drug insurance plan.

If you would like more information about the public prescription drug insurance plan, see Prescription drug insurance on the RAMQ website or the instructions for line 447 in the guide to the income tax return (TP-1.G-V).

Premium Payable Under the Québec Prescription Drug Insurance Plan

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