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 […]
A majority of Canadians, health-care providers, labour organizations and employers agree a national single-payer system is an idea whose time has come, according to a report by the Broadbent Institute. Canada has attempted to bring in a national pharmacare plan nine times in the last 73 years — in 1945, 1947, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1997, 2002, and […]
While a national pharmacare program in Canada could mean reduced expenditures and drug prices, there could also be unintended consequences, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. Shining a light on the national programs in Australia, New Zealand and U.K., the report looked at the cost-saving mechanisms they use, as well as the side-effects. Specifically, it noted the programs […]
In its 2018 budget, the federal government created an advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare, led by former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins. The council, which solicited submissions from Canadians between June and September, is expected to release its final report in the spring. Whatever the report recommends, Canada is closer to a […]