An advocacy group is pushing for a national catastrophic drug plan that may have ramifications for private insurance plans.
The Campaign to Control Cancer—a Canadian coalition of more than 70 cancer organizations dedicated to battling the disease—has written an open letter to Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for Ontario Deb Matthews outlining the case for a national catastrophic drug plan.
The group explains that while new treatments are entering the market, most of them are unaffordable to average Canadians. The letter calls on the federal government to follow through on recommendations proposed by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology of October 2002, which would see it establish a catastrophic drug program, the funding of which would be contingent on implementation of the program by the provinces and territories within their existing public and private systems of drug coverage.
The group believes the committee’s proposal would also help ensure the long-term sustainability of private supplementary drug insurance plans for those that agree to cap their members’ out-of-pocket expenses at $1,500 per year. “It would remove the spectre of extreme volatility in plan costs due to catastrophic drug expenses,” writes Nick Discepola, board chair with the Campaign to Control Cancer.
“Moreover, potential plan sponsors that have hesitated to adopt supplementary prescription drug benefits plans in the past out of fear of potentially facing catastrophic drug costs may now be more inclined to introduce them. This is particularly important for small and new businesses, enabling them to offer more competitive benefits packages to prospective employees than would otherwise be possible.”
