Ontario rolls out senior drug program

TORONTO • A day after promising significant new spending on a slew of social programs in its spring budget, Ontario’s Liberal government rolled out one of the first major policies ahead of the spring election — free prescription drugs for seniors.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said Tuesday that starting Aug. 1, 2019, people aged 65 or older will no longer have to pay a deductible or copayment for more than 4,400 prescription drugs. Wynne said the program will cost $575 million a year when it is fully operational in 2020-21.

“It’s going to mean one less thing people have to worry about and it’s going to deliver real savings to help manage the rising cost of living,” Wynne said.

Drugs covered in the program include medications for cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. The government estimates the program will save the average senior $240 a year.

Last year, the province created its OHIP+ pharmacare program that provides free prescription drugs to people 24 years old or young- er.

The announcement comes a day after the government pledged in a throne speech to fund a series of new programs — including the expanded pharmacare plan — the details of which will be included in the provincial budget set to be tabled on March 28.

That budget could run a deficit as high as $8 billion, breaking a key promise to balance the budget this year. Wynne said the spending is necessary to help Ontario residents who are struggling to make ends meet.

“We’ve made a conscious and deliberate decision that we need to invest in people’s care,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of work. We’ve put in place OHIP+ for kids. We’ve put in place free tuition. We raised the minimum wage ... but still people are coming to us and saying we need more support.”

PC health critic Jeff Yurek said his party is committed to a “proper” provincial pharmacare plan, but said the timing of the Liberal government’s announcement calls into question their dedication to the plan.

Kathleen Wynne