The federal Liberal government and the NDP have come to an agreement on pharmacare, clearing the way for the two parties to continue operating under the confidence-and-supply agreement that has helped keep the government in power over the last two years.
I like the word universal. Let’s see how universal it is.
I think it’s fair to roll it out in stages. Big systems take time to change and implement.
It also makes the most sense to start the roll out with commonly used drugs and lower-income families. Families earning $100K+ don’t need immediate relief on drug costs, not the least of which because they likely already have private coverage from their employment.
A single-payer system will obviously be the best and most efficient, but a 5-year roll out (or whatever) is totally reasonable. Big change takes time, and that’s fine.
Families earning $100K+ don’t need immediate relief on drug costs, not the least of which because they likely already have private coverage from their employment.
Diabetes is a condition that can even bankrupt people making $100K+ who think they have good medical insurance. Many diabetics reach their employer/pension medical insurance’s lifetime maximum and have to pay all costs out of pocket, which can be thousands of dollars a month.
Fair; I should have qualified with “most”.
I think the point stands, though; rolling it all out at once likely isn’t possible, so they should start with lower income families.
I think you need to consider it to be ultimately universal as a goal healthcare, as I worry you’re predisposed to consider any delay to be an abject failure and grounds for dismantling; see: healthcare.
It’s a big project for a number of people, so it needs to follow a priority awareness. You may not be in the first group supported, and that needs to be okay. Triage rules always apply, and it’s a great problem to have if you don’t get seen first.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In an interview with CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said weeks of talks between the two sides have produced draft legislation that will set out the framework for a national pharmacare program and, in the short term, new coverage for contraception and diabetes treatment.
Under the terms of the confidence-and-supply agreement signed in March 2022, the Liberal government committed to passing legislation — a Canada Pharmacare Act — by the end of 2023, in exchange for NDP support on key votes in the House of Commons.
As the new deadline approached, Singh’s public pressure on the government became louder — and private grumbling and threats leaked out to reporters.
Singh said Friday that, by including coverage for contraception and diabetes, the pharmacare agreement goes beyond the original terms of the deal between the two parties.
Singh said the legislation “clearly points to [a] single payer” system and includes references to the Canada Health Act, the federal legislation that sets out the terms under which the federal government agrees to fund medicare services in Canada.
Speaking to reporters in Nova Scotia on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is “committed to moving forward on creating a framework for pharmacare, because in a wealthy country like Canada, nobody should have to choose between buying groceries or buying much-needed medication.”
The original article contains 364 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 39%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
