Bulk-buying is fine but pharmacare should be the real goal
TheStar.com – Opinion/Editorials – Ottawa appears ready to join a bulk-buying club for prescription medicines run by the provinces but the quest for national pharmacare mustn’t end there.
Jan 18 2016. Editorial
Ottawa could move as early as this week to join the provinces and territories in a national club for bulk-buying medicine. It’s called the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and since its launch in 2010 it has successfully obtained price reductions on several widely used prescription drugs.
It only makes sense for federal officials to join this system. Ottawa is a major buyer of pharmaceuticals, supplying medicines to the military, veterans, prison inmates and First Nations. It could save millions of dollars by pooling its buying power with that of the alliance. But the ultimate goal for health ministers — at every level — should be a national pharmacare program that covers the cost of prescription drugs for all Canadians.
Provincial and territorial ministers are gathering for a two-day meeting in Vancouver where they are to be joined by federal Health Minister Jane Philpott on Thursday. She is widely expected to use this occasion to signal Ottawa’s entry into the alliance.
That should come as no surprise given the “mandate letter” handed to Philpott by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he appointed her. It specifically instructed the minister to boost access to prescription medications: “This will include joining with provincial and territorial governments to buy drugs in bulk, reducing the cost Canadian governments pay for these drugs, making them more affordable for Canadians.”
As of last year, the alliance was saving its members an estimated $490 million annually. Negotiations aimed at lowering prices on additional drugs, including ones to treat arthritis, cancer and HIV, are currently underway with pharmaceutical companies. It’s about time Ottawa added its considerable weight to the network.
But Philpott’s mission to improve access to prescription medications must not end there. A great deal more needs to be done.
The average person who fills a prescription doesn’t pay for it via the federal or provincial government but through a private drug plan, or by reaching into his own pocket, or both. Either way, Canadians are shelling out far more than they should compared to people in other countries.
It’s estimated that one household in five spends $500 or more on prescription drugs each year, and 7 per cent pay more than $1,000 annually. Those unable to pay often go without medicine. And even people covered by workplace drug insurance plans are typically stuck with costly deductibles and co-payments.
The ideal solution remains an expansion of Canada’s universal, public health-care system to include the cost of prescription drugs. Only that will give all Canadians fair and equitable access to the medicine they need.
< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2016/01/18/bulk-buying-is-fine-but-pharmacare-should-be-the-real-goal-editorial.html >
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2016 at 9:50 am and is filed under Health Debates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Leave a Reply
Recent Comments