Innovative Medicines Canada is calling on the federal government to introduce amendments to Bill C-64 that clarify the impact on all aspects of Canadians’ drug coverage.
In a press release, the association urged the feds to ensure its new pharmacare program doesn’t disrupt existing coverage for the 27 million Canadians who are insured under a private drug plan, noting, in a letter, Health Minister Mark Holland told the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology that under this program, the cost of these medications will be paid for and administered through the public plan, rather than through a mix of public and private payers.
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“These contradictory remarks from the minister reflect the fundamental ambiguity in Bill C-64 that we believe should have been clarified and addressed long before the legislation got to this stage,” said Bettina Hamelin, the IMC’s president, in the release.
Indeed, Holland’s new language means the financial impact on the public system will be much greater now, since the original analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Officer for this program was based on a multi-payer plan, says Carolyne Eagan, president of the Benefits Alliance. “Based on the PBO’s estimates, there is a $2.5 billion shortfall. It seems very clear that what has been passed is a single payer . . . universal plan where only the public system pays for those medications, which is not what many people were hoping for. There’s a lot more that could be done with that money to help even more people with additional health conditions or high-cost drugs, if it were a multi-payer system.”
The bill, which became law last month, will cover birth control and diabetes drugs and supplies. However, British Columbia, which became the first province to sign onto the federal government’s agreement, will use the program to fund hormone replacement therapy for women and diabetes medications since the province already covers oral contraceptives under a provincial program.
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