The National Prescription Drug Plan is one of several initiatives by the Government of The Bahamas to improve access to health care services and in so doing to enhance health and quality of life of Bahamians.

The Plan is managed by the National Insurance Board and is being implemented in phases. The National Prescription Drug Plan is but the first step towards a national and comprehensive health and wellness program.

Aims and Benefits of the Plan 
Presently, The Plan assists persons suffering from chronic diseases in getting their prescription drugs and medical supplies at any participating public or private pharmacy at zero cost. This Plan provides support for persons suffering from chronic diseases, improves public awareness on chronic diseases and promotes prevention of chronic diseases.

The Plan consists of two major programs – the Prescription Drug Program and the Healthy People Program. The Prescription Drug Program supports treatment of existing chronic conditions by enhancing access to prescription drugs in public and private pharmacies, reducing patient burden of paying for prescription drugs, and improving patient compliance in condition management. Prevention of chronic diseases is equally as important as treatment and cure, and so, the Healthy People Program has been designed to complement the Drug Program. The Healthy People Program provides grants to local organizations for well-designed community projects to aid in fostering healthy lifestyles and wellness throughout The Bahamas. 

Chronic Diseases to be Covered
Chronic diseases are the major causes of illness, hospitalization, surgery and early deaths in The Bahamas. Persons suffering from one or more of the following chronic diseases and belonging to one of the covered groups can benefit from the Plan.

• Asthma
• Arthritis
• Breast Cancer
• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• High Cholesterol
• Hypertension
• Ischaemic Heart Disease
• Major Depression
• Prostate Cancer
• Psychosis

How does the Plan work?
To benefit from the Plan, individuals must be registered as members. To become a member, one must:

• Have a valid NIB number
• Belong to one of the covered groups
• Be certified by a registered medical practitioner as suffering from one or more of the listed 11 diseases
• Complete and sign the requisite NPDP Registration Form (Form DP-1)
• Be issued an ACE Prescription Card to be used when accessing benefits from participating pharmacies.

In the later phases, an additional requirement will be the extent to which a person is up-to-date with payment of the relevant contributions to NIB.

Public and private pharmacies have been contracted to provide drugs approved by the NPDP.

As a member, prescriptions from a physician along with the membership card can be used at any participating public or private pharmacy to obtain medication. The pharmacy will send information on the filled prescription to the NIB Drug Plan Office for payment.

Who is eligible? 
The Plan presently covers:

• NIB Pensioners receiving:
  • Retirement Benefit or Grant
  • Old-Age Non Contributory Pension
  • Survivors Benefit/Assistance (age 60 & over)
  • Disablement Benefit assessed at 100%
• NIB Invalids receiving:
  • Invalidity Benefit
  • Invalidity Assistance
• Bahamian citizens age 65 and over
• Children
  • under 18 years
  • under 25 years (if full-time students)
• Indigent persons
• Government employees
• Women receiving ante-natal and post-natal care

Costs and Funding
In the first phase and second phases of The Plan, members incur no costs as the Plan is funded entirely from the Medical Benefits Branch of The National Insurance Board.

For future phases, funding will be derived from mixed sources including Government grants, small payroll deductions from workers, coordination of benefits with private insurers and a small co-payment.