On Pharmacare, the federal budget offers big questions and small investments GlobeDebate
Rosalie Wyonch is a policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Here’s what the budget does provide for: $35-million over four years, starting 2019-20, to establish a “Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office.” Starting in 2022-23, the budget also proposes an investment of up to $500-million per year to help Canadians with rare diseases get access to medications.Both of these echo the interim report’s recommendations, and both are good ideas.
But what remains unsettled even after the budget and the interim report is what exactly a “comprehensive, evidence-based national formulary” actually means. The interim report suggests that this national list would “serve as a baseline for harmonizing coverage across Canada,” but whether it will just comprise a list of essential medicines or truly “comprehensive” and all-inclusive – or something in between – remains unclear.
The lack of clarity in the scope of a national formulary and associated listing requirements for public insurance also implies that the future role for private insurance companies is left largely undefined. If the formulary is comprehensive and the listing agreements are binding, then there may be only a minor role for private drug-insurance firms.
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