The Liberal Party of Canada is promising a number of health-care reforms in its election platform, including a national pharmacare program and improved access to mental-health services. According to a backgrounder document, the Liberals are aiming to “strengthen the Canada Health Act to make sure the full range of mental-health services required by Canadians are available in every […]
Quebec’s universal pharmacare program offers better drug coverage and quicker approval for new drugs coming to market than the rest of Canada, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. Looking at drugs approved by Health Canada between 2008 and 2017, the report found Quebec went on to cover 33.4 per cent of them, […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is recommending that any future national pharmacare system includes an actuary to oversee its revenue, expenses and funding status. “Canada’s actuaries — with public interest in mind — advise that any national pharmacare program should be based on sound risk management, financing and insurance principles,” noted the CIA in a press release. The […]
Industry groups had mixed feelings about an expert panel’s report calling for a single-payer pharmacare plan. Released on Wednesday by Eric Hoskins, former Ontario health minister, the report recommended Canada and the provinces work together to create a unified program that addresses the country’s patchwork of prescription drug plans. Provinces and territories, the panel said, […]
An expert panel is calling for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to create a single-payer public pharmacare program. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s former health minister, released the findings in Ottawa on Wednesday, noting the recommendations aim to address the country’s patchwork of private and public prescription drug plans. The council is recommending […]
Brand-name drug companies could put off introducing new medicine in Canada and scale back research here if the country makes a major shift to cheaper generic alternatives under a national pharmacare plan, according to an internal federal analysis. The concerns were included last year in a briefing document for federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau that […]
While some say a single-payer system would mean reduced drug prices and expenditures, others argue it could have unintended consequences, particularly for private plan sponsors. Marc-André Gagnon, associate professor at Carleton University’s school of public policy and administration: Canada’s drug coverage is a patchwork without coherence or purpose. Some think more patches can solve the […]
The Canadian Labour Congress’ wish list for the upcoming 2019 federal budget includes universal national pharmacare and pensions and retirement security. For pharmacare, the group is calling on the federal government to implement a national plan. “Budget 2019 must outline the federal government’s plan and budget future expenditures to implement a universal, single-payer pharmacare program […]
The advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare has submitted its interim report to the federal government. The report sets out three initial recommendations for the implementation of national pharmacare: Creating a national drug agency to oversee national pharmacare; Developing a comprehensive, evidence-based list of prescribed drugs — a national formulary — to harmonize coverage […]
As the federal government continues its consultations on a national pharmacare system, many questions are still up in the air. Will the new system follow a single-payer model? And if so, what would be the implications for a private-payer system? As discussions examine the various possibilities, the private industry says pharmacare reform is a complex issue that requires more […]