The Province is improving access to a pair of drugs used to fight alcohol addiction.

"It's one more arrow in the quiver," Health Minister and Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen says. "We've been told by experts that these drugs work."

The restrictions on Naltrexone and Acamprosate will be loosened so physicians prescribing the drugs no longer have to receive prior approval from the Manitoba Pharmacare Program. Patients eligible for Manitoba pharmacare or drug plans offered by Manitoba Families can then immediately take the prescription to a pharmacy and have the costs covered.

Health Minister and Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen says the changes will enhance access to anti-craving medications making it easier for people misusing alcohol to receive treatment.

"By reducing costs for drugs, we are increasing access to treatment options for patients, as well as consistent and lower costs for our program," Friesen says.

The Manitoba Drug Benefits and Interchangeability Formulary lists therapeutically effective drugs of proven high quality that have been approved as eligible benefits under the pharmacare drug benefit program. The Manitoba Pharmacare Program is based on family income and covers 100 per cent of eligible drug costs once the income-based deductible is reached, regardless of medical condition or age.