NDP’s proposed pharmacare plan would cover 125 prescriptions

Horwath promises to put $475M-a-year program in place by 2020 if elected

The first pharmacare plan for Ontario would be in place by 2020 and initially cover 125 of the most commonly prescribed drugs, the NDP said Monday in releasing more de- tails on its election promise. While NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the decision about the list of medications would be left to an independent drug committee to determine, prescriptions for patients with asthma, allergies, HIV, diabetes or high blood pressure are expected to be covered, as is birth control.

“Nobody should be forced to skip their medications or actually cut their pills in half because they can’t afford their prescriptions,” she said.

She said 2.2 million Ontarians do not have drug coverage and one in four can’t afford their pills.

The NDP says its plan would cost $475 million annually and would be paid for using revenues from economic growth over the next few years, or the funds could be found elsewhere in the budget — outside the health-care envelope.

The total cost, she noted, repre- sents one-third of 1 per cent of the province’s total budget and should not be difficult to fund. The NDP would consider a new tax if necessary, but Horwath said her party would “do everything we can” to avoid that.

Covering 125 of the most common prescriptions initially “would provide reasonable coverage for a vast majority of Ontarians’ prescription drug needs,” said Steve Morgan of the University of British Columbia and an expert in universal pharmacare.

Cost models show that $475 million “is the worst-case scenario and, in some (cost models) the province actually saves money,” Morgan said.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins, a doctor, supports a national pharmacare program but came under fire from Horwath for not having done more on the issue for the province.