Health Minister Mark Holland tabled a long-awaited bill Thursday meant to pave the way for national pharmacare and preserve a deal that secures the New Democratic Party’s support for the government in the House of Commons. The bill includes a program to cover birth control as well as diabetes drugs and supplies for anyone with […]
Several stakeholders from the benefits sector are partnering to form the Smart Health Benefits Coalition, an advocacy group that aims to strengthen the health-care system and address longstanding gaps in care. The federal government will release the framework for its pharmacare program on March 1 and the coalition — comprised of representatives from Gallagher, Benefits Alliance, GroupHEALTH, Hub International Ltd., […]
In the year ahead, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association will continue its advocacy efforts to ensure the federal government’s proposed pharmacare plan extends coverage for those who lack benefits without disrupting workplace benefits that millions of working Canadians rely on, says Stephen Frank, the association’s president and chief executive officer. The right approach to […]
Government House leader Karina Gould warned Tuesday the Liberals are unlikely to get a pharmacare bill passed by the end of the year, despite their promise to do so in an agreement with the New Democratic Party. “I don’t think we’re going to get it passed by the end of this year, but we’ll definitely […]
The Parliamentary Budget Office is confirming the insurance industry’s projection that a single-payer model of national pharmacare program will cost $40 billion annually as a result of shifting more than $14 billion in private insurance coverage onto the government’s books. In a new report, the PBO estimated the cost of a single-payer universal drug plan to […]
Ontario’s New Democratic Party’s election platform includes universal dental care, mental-health care and pharmacare. Following the agreement reached between the federal Liberals and NDP in late March, the provincial NDP will lead the way on the program, working with the federal government to “strengthen and accelerate the expansion of dental care,” according to the platform that […]
Amid plans by the federal government to introduce national dental and pharmacare programs, key stakeholders in the private payer health-care sector should highlight the value of private health plans in Canada, according to a panel during a webinar by the Group Insurance Pharmaceutical Committee last week. In March, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic […]
Canadian employers looking to redesign their benefits plans are in a holding pattern until they hear more details on the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party’s joint proposed national dental-care and pharmacare programs. Last week, the two parties announced plans to form an alliance until 2025 in order to deliver these programs […]
An agreement reached between the federal Liberals and New Democrats this week will prioritize work on a dental-care program, national pharmacare and paid leave. The deal will see the NDP support the Liberals on matters of confidence until 2025. The dental-care program and national pharmacare, which the NDP have long championed, had to get Liberal buy-in for the […]
If elected, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh is pledging to begin working with provinces immediately to deliver a single-payer, public pharmacare program for all Canadians. The NDP say millions of people can’t afford to take the medications they need and must skip doses, cut their pills in half or even go without them. “We […]