The New Democratic Party (NDP) rejected the first draft of the Liberal government’s bill concerning the establishment of a national pharmacare plan, but the Minister of Health assures that discussions between the two parties remain “extremely fluid”.
The Liberals have promised to introduce a bill on pharmacare this fall as part of the support and confidence agreement they reached last year with the NDP to ensure the survival of the minority government until ‘in 2025.
This agreement calls for “continuing progress towards the implementation of a universal drug insurance plan” by adopting a first law on this subject by the end of 2023.
However, according to NDP Health critic Don Davies, the first draft of the bill did not meet his party’s expectations.
“She did not respect the strict conditions of the New Democrats,” said Mr. Davies in an interview. We are now waiting to receive the next version. »
Davies said the NDP would accept nothing less than a firm commitment to having pharmacare paid for and administered through the public, single-payer system.
The NDP would be ready to start only with essential drugs, but demands that deadlines be written into law to provide for the expansion of the regime.
“This process comes and goes”
In response, Health Minister Mark Holland did not want to reveal which path the government is currently advocating, as the situation could change before the bill is tabled.
The minister instead assured that he is discussing the different options with the NDP, both regarding the bill and other measures that could be put in place to improve access to drug insurance.
“This process comes and goes, it’s extremely fluid and it changes with every conversation we have,” Holland said in an interview.
The minister, however, issued a warning: the bill to be presented this fall will serve to lay the foundations of the national pharmacare plan, but it will not contain the final version of the program.
“We don’t aim to write everything at once. “When we lay the foundations correctly, everything else can move forward more quickly,” he argued.
There are a wide range of options the government could consider when drafting its bill.
He could follow the NDP’s vision and implement a universal single-payer system, or introduce more vaguely worded legislation that makes no mention of how pharmacare would be rolled out.
The Liberals could also consider a program that would only offer coverage to low-income people who are not already privately insured, as they did with their dental plan.
An obvious choice, according to an expert
Despite all these options, only one stands out: that of a universal single-payer system, in the opinion of the Dr Eric Hoskins, who chaired the National Pharmacare Implementation Advisory Council in 2019.
“This is also the conclusion of virtually every commission and committee or expert group that has looked into this issue over the years for Canada,” added Dr.r Hoskins.
The expert also confirmed that he is participating in discussions with the NDP, Liberals and other relevant stakeholders as the government drafts its bill.
“I felt it was important for me to provide whatever advice and help I could. It’s a very serious subject,” he noted in an interview.
It is partly because of the complexity of the issue that the final report of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of a National Pharmacare Plan recommended going, “first and foremost,” with medications. essential.
In 2017, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that a universal pharmacare plan would have cost $19.3 billion per year if it had been implemented in 2015, and that it would have increased over time to reach $22.6 billion annually.
In today’s dollars, the annual cost would be between $23 billion and $27 billion.
According to the Dr Hoskins, starting with essential drugs would only cost about $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion per year.
“It would already be a huge victory for Canadians,” he said, speaking of an impact with the potential to “change lives”.
Minister Holland did not want to confirm the exact moment when the bill will be tabled, but he committed to respecting the deadline set in his party’s agreement with the NDP, namely to present the legislative document by the end of the year.