Covering the Cost of Prescriptions Will Make Life Better
Being able to see a doctor doesn’t mean much if you can’t afford the medications that they prescribe and, until recently, Canada was the only country with a universal health care system that didn’t also have a universal pharmacare program. At the end of February, governments jointly announced that Manitoba is the first province to sign a pharmacare agreement with the federal government, covering the cost of birth control, diabetes medications, and hormone replacement therapy for menopause.
This is a historic first step toward a universal, public pharmacare program that will deliver on Tommy Douglas’s vision for equitable health care for all. A 2019 report showed that 1 in 5 Canadians were falling through the cracks with inadequate drug coverage, or worse, no coverage at all. Nobody should go without the prescribed medication they need because the cost is too high.
Continuing the Fight for Universal Pharmacare
The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the independent body that analyses fiscal proposals and tracks spending, found that a single-payer universal drug plan would lead to economy-wide savings and improve the health of the millions of Canadians who go without essential medications due to cost. The PBO estimates that universal pharmacare will save Canadians approximately $2 billion a year thanks to the bulk purchasing power afforded by a single-payer system.
Despite not holding government, the NDP won the Pharmacare Act by leveraging power in parliament through a Supply and Confidence Agreement. But our fight is not finished yet. We must continue working together to ensure that the government follows through on the promises of the Act and delivers a truly universal, single-payer, and public pharmacare program for all.