March 5 2024

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) welcomes the newly introduced Pharmacare Act as a first step towards expanded prescription drug coverage across the country.  The new legislation ensures the costs of diabetes medications and contraception are covered for everyone who needs them, regardless of their means, employment status or where they live. It also lays the first building block toward a universal, single-payer pharmacare program in Canada.

“This is a positive development in our health care system that relieves many people of the burden of having to choose between paying for basic necessities such as food or rent, and buying vital medication for diabetes or contraception,” said NUPGE President Bert Blundon. “We look forward to a speedy process to pass the law, and a prompt move to expanding coverage to other essential drugs, and cementing universal, single-payer pharmacare in Canada.”

NUPGE represents over 425,000 workers across the country, including more than 150,000 health care professionals, and has long advocated for universal, single-payer pharmacare to ensure drug coverage is fair, accessible and cost-effective. “We remain committed to a broad pharmacare program as the most effective way to reducing prescription drug spending overall, ensuring access to coverage, and ultimately delivering improved care to Canadians,” Blundon said

The long-standing consensus — supported by major studies such as the National Forum on Health, the Romanow Commission, and the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare — is that comprehensive single-payer pharmacare is more efficient than the current checkered approach in the country. Projected savings for Canada range between $4 billion to $11 billion, through bulk-buying, improved monitoring and other efficiencies. Most countries that have universal health care, such as the UK and France, already operate under a national pharmacare regime, with better outcomes overall.

NUPGE and its Components are calling for prompt action to implement a pharmacare system that is inclusive, public, and aligned with the principles of the Canada Health Act. Blundon confirmed that NUPGE “will continue to play an active role to ensure this much-needed improvement in Canada’s health care system becomes a reality.”

The National Union also encourages all provinces and territories to work together to broaden the scope of pharmacare, and stands with the unions in Alberta and Québec that have appealed to their respective governments to work constructively within the Pharmacare Act. “Opting out undermines the shared goal of equitable health care for everyone in Canada,” said Blundon.