The governing Liberals took their first major step toward national pharmacare Thursday as the health minister tabled a bill that paves the way for a universal drug program and secures NDP support in the House of Commons.
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“This is a proof-of-concept opportunity to try two drugs on a universal, single-payer model,” Holland said at a press conference Thursday.He said he believes the government will be able to show significant cost savings in fairly short order. Pharmacare is a central pillar of the political pact between the two parties, which has the NDP helping the Liberals stave off an election in exchange for progress on a list of shared priorities.
“The Liberals fought us every step of the way. They resisted, they delayed, they opposed, but New Democrats persisted,” said Davies. As it stands, Canada is the only country in the world with a universal health-care system that does not also have universal coverage for prescription drugs outside of hospitals.
Alberta and Quebec have already said they want to opt out of the program and would rather put the money toward their existing drug plans. Ontario also provides many contraceptives for people under the age of 25 who don't have private insurance, and has existing programs to support people with diabetes. The provincial government says it wants more information about what the bill will mean for those programs.
In addition to the initial plans for diabetes and birth control drugs, the bill lays out several next steps and deadlines designed to nudge the government toward a bigger pharmacare plan.
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