Contraceptives and diabetes medications can only be offered by the Quebec drug insurance system if Quebec and Ottawa can sign an agreement.
“Yes, I imagine it is a condition,” agreed federal Health Minister Mark Holland on the sidelines of his announcement on Thursday.
He was referring to the fact that the federally imposed model would be universal, single-payer access to provide free certain contraceptive drugs and others to treat diabetes, including the provision of medical products such as syringes and test strips. blood sugar test for diabetics.
Bill C-64, tabled in federal Parliament Thursday morning, gives the federal government one year to reach an agreement with the provinces and territories who wish to include this program in their own drug insurance system, like what exists in Quebec .
Who has jurisdiction over health?
Minister Mark Holland alluded to the fact that he does not recognize that health is a provincial responsibility, since according to his own interpretation, “health is the responsibility of each person”. He says he already has good, “productive” conversations with the Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, with whom he says he shares the same objective of providing access to more medications.
The Quebec government wanted to obtain the right to withdraw from this program, with full financial compensation. Alberta did not want this program. “The provinces should be able to withdraw,” also said the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre.
The announcement of this federal drug insurance was a condition for the survival of the “support and confidence” agreement between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP), which plans to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in power until fall 2025.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh praised this “historic” day on Thursday. He had threatened to tear up his agreement with the minority Liberals, before reaching an agreement at the last minute with the government on pharmacare.
C-64 is presented as the first step towards a universal and national drug insurance plan. It allows Ottawa to buy drugs in bulk, but does not quantify the cost of covered drugs, normally within a year. The Liberals and NDP believe this program will save the public system money.
According to the federal government, one in four people with diabetes in Canada say they do not follow their treatment due to costs. 3.7 million diabetics should see their pharmacy bills reduced by Thursday’s announcement, Ottawa says.
With Sandrine Vieira