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'The status quo is also unsustainable with drug costs skyrocketing.'
Ottawa (23 Feb. 06) - A group of leading public health care advocacy organizations has released a policy paper calling for a national pharmacare plan in Canada to mark the start of a new national campaign on the issue of surging drug costs in Canada.
The national campaign builds on the National Pharmaceutical Strategy agreed to by First Ministers in the September 2004 Health Care Accord.
The policy paper More for Less: A National Pharmacare Strategy, concludes that a national, universal, publicly-funded pharmacare plan would ensure equal access to prescription drugs while at the same time addressing the issues of sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the Canadian public health care system.
The paper was prepared by the Canadian Health Coalition (CHC), the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and several other organizations representing health care workers, seniors, trade union members, churches, and anti-poverty activists across Canada.
"The current patchwork of public and private drug plans is inequitable, because obtaining coverage for drug costs is not determined by need, but by where you live and work," said Kathleen Connors, CHC chairperson.
"The status quo is also unsustainable with drug costs skyrocketing. The negative influence of pharmaceutical companies on cost and safety threatens the health of public Medicare and Canadians. We need a new system that would be accessible, affordable, and put safety first," she says.
"Canadians have been waiting more than fifty years for a national Pharmacare plan and that's long enough," says James Clancy, NUPGE National President. "Over fifty years ago Canada decided we needed a single-payer system for hospital and physician care. It's time we moved away from the current chaotic patchwork of public and private drug plans and adopted a national single-payer plan for pharmaceutical care as well. Our paper demonstrates that a national single-payer pharmacare plan makes sense on the grounds of equity, economic efficiency, and improved safety. It's now time for the federal government to muster the political will to get on with the job of implementing such a plan." NUPGE