Some MacEwan students were charged for NARCAN Nasal Spray kits handed out at Fall Fest, when they were supposed to be free.

Around 130 students covered by SAMU’s Health & Dental Benefits Plan had their plans charged, according to a statement issued by SAMU in their newsletter. In a Facebook post on the “MacEwan Used Book Exchange” group, two students said they were charged around $125.

The NARCAN kits were handed out at a booth that was rented by Emergent Bio Solutions, which cooperated with Central Point Pharmacy. Raj Manhas, the pharmacist handing out the kits, said the application to rent the booth mentioned the spray was covered under the students’ plans, but also had a question about selling products that Emergent answered ‘no’. 

“It was kind of misleading,” Manhas said. “And then when I came in, I guess I didn’t do my due diligence and see what was allowed there or not. But the thing that really hit us was that there’s a fixed amount that each student has on their coverage plan, and this [charge] was taking a big part of that. So I reversed it, whether it was allowed or not.”

Gabriel Ambutong, the President of SAMU, said that “some students with the SAMU Health and Dental Plan wrote down their health plan number on the pharmacy form,” which resulted in their Drug Benefit Account being charged. “Students were not asked to pay for the spray using cash, debit or credit.”

SAMU apologized for any inconvenience caused and assured students that they would provide reimbursements. Anyone who was on a different health plan would not be affected by this. 

If ten days have passed and you don’t see a removal of the charge from your student drug plan, please reach out to the Health Benefits desk for more assistance.

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Photo by Amanda Erickson