(Ottawa) The Liberals and New Democrats have agreed on a pharmacare plan, at the end of negotiations essential to the survival of the agreement supposed to keep Justin Trudeau’s minority government in power until 2025.
A New Democratic source familiar with the discussions as well as a government representative told The Canadian Press on Friday.
The Canadian Press granted its two sources anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The imminent deadline of 1er March which had been set for the tabling of a legislative document on prescription drug insurance will therefore certainly be respected.
According to the NDP source, the bill to be presented by the Liberals mentions that contraceptive coverage will initially take place under a universal single-payer program. The same will be true for “most” drugs intended to treat type 1 and 2 diabetes, it was indicated.
“We expect to see results later in 2024,” said this source, specifying that this deadline is not mentioned in the bill.
According to her, the Liberals are committed to quickly beginning the necessary negotiations with the provinces and territories so that the agreed first phase becomes reality.
The bill will also define the framework so that, in the longer term, a complete universal drug insurance system can be put in place.
At this level, the New Democratic Party (NDP) maintained that the legislative document will specify that the formula chosen must respect the Canada Health Act. We insisted on the fact that this law provides for universality so that a province receives from the federal government its “full financial contribution” for the health services it delivers.
The NDP is campaigning for a universal, single-payer drug insurance system, as recommended in a 2019 report that was commissioned by the Trudeau government.
The “support and confidence” agreement between the New Democrats and the Liberals initially called for the adoption of pharmacare legislation before the end of last year.
The political parties agreed in December to extend the deadline to 1er March and the bill will only be tabled by then.
The New Democratic leader argued Wednesday that his party took advantage of the reprieve granted to ask for more, that is to say, coverage, in the shorter term, of contraceptives and medications prescribed to diabetics.
On Friday, the NDP source indicated that the list of medications that must be covered initially includes, in terms of diabetes, all types of insulin, but excludes Ozempic.
News in recent months has shown that in Canada, many doctors have prescribed Ozempic to their patients to help them lose weight.
In terms of birth planning, we find contraceptive methods obtained by prescription, such as hormonal treatments, anovulants, the IUD and the “morning after pill”. The selection was said to correspond to the coverage offered by British Columbia.
A fund is also planned to extend coverage to equipment used by diabetics to measure their blood sugar, that is to say the level of glucose in their blood.