Low Cost Alternative (LCA) and Reference Drug Program (RDP) Data Files

This page was last updated on April 2, 2012.

Latest update

April 2, 2012 LCA/RDP reimbursement changes

In 2010, PharmaCare began a phased decrease in reimbursement for generic drugs in the Low Cost Alternative (LCA) and Reference Drug programs. In this latest phase, the maximum allowable list price (MALP) that manufacturers can charge for generic LCA products has been reduced to 35% of the equivalent brand product’s list price.

With the exception of drugs subject to the Reduced Mark-up for High Cost Drugs policy, drug products are reimbursed up to the established MALP, plus a mark-up of 8%. Drugs subject to the Reference Drug Program (RDP) may still be subject to other PharmaCare pricing policies such as the Maximum Pricing Policy or the LCA Program.

The revised reimbursement prices for generic LCA/RDP products take effect April 2, 2012.

Any generic products deemed ineligible as a result of PharmaCare’s price confirmation process will no longer be covered by PharmaCare as of April 2, 2012.

Downloadable files – current listing and reimbursement information

PharmaCare provides regularly-updated Low-Cost Alternative (LCA) and Reference Drug Program (RDP) listings in three downloadable files.

The files below are updated on the first Thursday of each month.

Note: Because the files were last updated on April 2, there will be no April 5th update. The next scheduled update is slated for May 3, 2012.

Filename Last Update Description
LCA Master Spreadsheet (XLS 1.2M) May 3, 2012 Includes all new and existing generic drugs within the LCA program with their current reimbursement limits
RDP Master Spreadsheet (XLS 98K) May 3, 2012 Includes all new and existing drug within the RDP program with their current reimbursement limits
LCA/RDP Updates Workbook (XLS 415K) May 3, 2012

Includes the following four spreadsheets that provide cumulative information on all new generic drug listings, all new LCA categories, all changes and effective dates for new LCA or RDP reimbursement limits, and any drug de-listings:

  1. Summary Spreadsheet – summarizes the most recent changes made to the generics formulary, the LCA program or the RDP program
  2. LCA Updates Spreadsheet – records all updates made to the master LCA spreadsheet since April 2, 2012, in a cumulative manner
  3. RDP Updates Spreadsheet – records all updates made to the master RDP spreadsheet since April 2, 2012, in a cumulative manner
  4. Non-benefit Spreadsheet – records all non-benefit generic drug listing decisions made since April 2, 2012, in a cumulative manner

Mid-cycle updates

Occasionally, PharmaCare makes changes to the Low-Cost Alternative or Reference Drug Programs between regular monthly updates. These as-needed changes might include generic drug pricing adjustments or expedited coverage for significant first-entry generics. When this happens, PharmaCare posts updated versions of the above files on the effective date of the change in PharmaCare coverage.

Tip: Make sure you always have the most recent information! Check this site on the first Thursday of the month and then again mid-month.

Additional information

On occasion, PharmaCare posts additional information on regular or as-needed LCA/RDP changes. Any such information is listed immediately below.

Item Description/Link Dated posted
- No additional files at this time -

For historical information on LCA and RDP pricing changes, contact The Pharmaceutical Services Division at pharma@gov.bc.ca

File format

The files are in Excel (XLS) format ready for use in any spreadsheet or database.

How to interpret the data files

The PharmaCare Low Cost Alternative /Reference Drug Program Guide (PDF 240K) contains

  • information on the LCA and RDP programs
  • detailed explanations of the data fields in the LCA and RDP master spreadsheets

The List of Manufacturer Codes (PDF 166K) specifies the manufacturer ID numbers that appear in the “MAN” field of the LCA/RDP files.

If you have questions about the data files, please send a detailed email to PharmaCare.