Pharmacare Now!

Canadians want pharmacare, but we need the full dose.

Voters want a universal, comprehensive and public pharmacare program as recommended by the government's own advisory council.

Half-dose proposals from industry lobbyists won't address high costs or bring Canadians full and fair coverage.

We need the full dose. Let's get it done.

Canada has fallen behind other countries.

Canada is the only country in the world with a universal health care system that does not provide universal coverage for prescription medicines used outside of hospitals.

Canadians pay more for their prescriptions.

Canada has allowed pharmaceutical companies to charge substantially more for prescription drugs than in virtually any other OECD country.

Millions of Canadians struggle to afford their prescriptions.

Millions of Canadian residents are unable to afford the prescription medicines that are necessary and essential to their health and well-being, which also has serious deleterious consequences for the operation of the health care system as a whole.

Most Canadians want a comprehensive public pharmacare program.

The need to expand the framework of publicly funded health care to include prescription medicines enjoys overwhelming public support, as well as the unanimous endorsement of every expert body called upon to study the issue, including most recently the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare.

A patchwork system will not work.

The “fill-the-gaps” proposals by industry lobbyists would maintain the shortcomings in our existing patchwork system with:

spiraling drug and administrative costs;
inequitable drug coverage based on varying workplace and provincial plans;
annual and life time limits for patients; and
costly co-pays and deductibles for Canadian households.

It's time for public pharmacare now!

A national public pharmacare program must be:

Universal – where all residents of Canada should have equal access to a national pharmacare system.

Public – a national pharmacare system should be both publicly delivered and administered to maximize purchasing power and lower administrative costs.

Comprehensive – pharmacare should provide a broad range of safe, effective and evidence-based treatments.
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Accessible – access to prescription drugs should be based on medical need, not ability to pay.

Portable – pharmacare benefits should be portable across provinces and territories when people travel or move.