Since Ontario rolled out its new pharmacare program for youth on Jan. 1, multiple media reports have detailed the challenges faced by some people in transitioning to public drug coverage from their private plan. The examples include a mother who, according to the Brantford Expositor, found that while the provincial program doesn’t cover Fluoxetine, a medication for her child’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, […]
Universal pharmacare is an “overly simplistic” solution that risks cutting access to drugs, says a senior executive at one of Canada’s largest pharmaceutical companies. “It sounds like a lovely solution,” Julia Brown, vice-president of government affairs and market access at Janssen Inc., told the audience at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management Forum. But […]
After having a chance to digest the parliamentary budget officer’s report projecting that a universal pharmacare program could represent $4.2 billion in savings for Canada, some believe it’s time to end the debate and take action. Elizabeth Kwan, a senior researcher at the Canadian Labour Congress, certainly believes so. “We need an all-out, all-Canadian effort to put […]
A universal pharmacare program could represent savings of $4.2 billion, according to a new report published by the parliamentary budget officer. The report, which followed a request by the House of Commons’ standing committee on health, estimated the level of savings that would result from a national program covering drugs included on Quebec’s public formulary. Of […]
The conversation around the need for a national pharmacare program is picking up as the Canadian Labour Congress prepares to launch a campaign this fall. “Our campaign is going to be to put pressure on the federal government to commit to start working with the provinces. And we’re hoping that they will come at the appropriate […]
In Canada, about half of prescription drug costs are privately funded. As drug costs rise between eight and 10 per cent each year, governments are feeling the pressure to provide some relief to private payers. Ontario is responding with the introduction of a new program that will provide prescription drug coverage for all Ontarians under […]
As Benefits Canada reported last week, the Ontario government announced in its 2017 budget that it will begin offering universal pharmacare to youth under the age of 25. The program will take effect on January 1, 2018, and will cover the 4,400 medications in the Ontario drug benefit formulary. “By eliminating financial barriers to prescribed drugs, […]
Ontario is introducing a pharmacare program for all residents aged 24 and under, Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced Thursday as he tabled the province’s 2017 budget. The new program will launch on Jan. 1, 2018, and will offer universal drug coverage for all medicines listed in the Ontario drug benefit formulary. There will be no copayment […]
As Ontarians wait to see what’s in the provincial budget today, the Ontario New Democratic Party is getting ahead of the debate with its promise to implement a universal pharmacare plan should it win next year’s election. The NDP hopes the plan will ”reduce drug costs faced by individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other private payers; and increase […]
British Columbia PharmaCare has partnered with Pacific Blue Cross to introduce new claims technology that aims to improve the process for plan members seeking approvals for coverage of higher-cost drugs only partially covered by the provincial health-care system. To be eligible for drugs that require special authority under the province’s public drug program, plan members […]