National drug program should be universal, says P.E.I. Health Coalition

The chair of the P.E.I. Health Coalition was disappointed to hear the national pharmacare program being explored by the federal government will not be universal.

The government unveiled its 2018-19 budget on Tuesday, which included a newadvisory council on the creation of a national pharmacareprogram.

Mary Boyd has been lobbying for this kind of national drug program for more than 20 years, noting several government reports have found merits to the program.

But federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Wednesday it will only be for people who don't already have drug coverage.

"We need a strategy to deal with the fact not everyone has access, and we need to do it in a way that's responsible, that deals with the gaps, but doesn't throw out the system that we currently have," he said.

We consider this to be a big betrayal of what we really wanted, a universal pharmacareplan. Mary Boyd

Boyd said her group believes all health care should be publicly funded and wants to see a diminished role for private insurers.

"This is a big shock to all of us to hear what he said today," she said. "We consider this to be a big betrayal of what we really wanted, a universal pharmacareplan. So it makes the whole thing toothless."

She is hopeful that the chair of the advisory board, Dr. EricHoskins, the former Ontario health minister, can see the benefits of the universality of the program.

Boyd saidacademic reports and examples from other countries show the savings of the program would be in the billions and improves access to pharmaceuticals for everyone.

Canada is the only country with a universal or single-payer health-care system that does not also have a national pharmacareprogram. Opinion polls and surveys have showed for a number of years that Canadians overwhelmingly support a universal drug program, Boyd said.

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