Why unions are seeking Canada-wide pharmacare plan,
Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve negotiated health insurance coverage for many of our members. But we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medicines they need. That’s why this Labour Day, we are launching a campaign to win a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians, regardless of their income, age, or where they work or live.
A national pharmacare plan is badly needed and long overdue. Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions. Some are chronically ill and worry about how they’ll pay for the medication they need now and for years to come. Some are students who will lose coverage through their parents as soon as they graduate. Many stuck in part-time, low-wage jobs worry they’ll never find a job that provides health benefits.
The only place where prescriptions are covered for all Canadians is in the hospital. The federal government covers the cost of prescription drugs for members of the Armed Forces and the RCMP, veterans and Indigenous people. But the vast majority of Canadians receive no public assistance to cope with the costs of prescriptions they fill at pharmacies.
Today, every provincial and territorial government provides different coverage. Most subsidize the cost of medications for vulnerable Canadians, such as those over 65 years old and recipients of social assistance and disability benefits. Many also provide catastrophic coverage only for those facing the most astronomical prescription costs.
In the absence of a national plan, Ontario has taken steps to introduce a partial program in 2018 that will cover prescription drug costs for anyone 25 and under. This is a welcome move, especially in today’s labour market, where too many young workers find themselves stuck in low-wage, part-time jobs without health insurance. But patchwork and partial measures aren’t enough.
We need a pharmacare plan that covers all Canadians. Just think about what that would mean for the one in five people paying out of pocket for their medication today, either because they don’t have a prescription drug plan or because they have a plan that doesn’t cover the full cost of the medications they need.
I remember one worker who really brought this issue home for me. He had been hospitalized when his employer went bankrupt. Lying in his hospital bed, he was told his health benefits would be terminated in 30 days. His life was instantly turned upside down and he could no longer afford the medications he would need for years to come.
That worker’s story is the same for too many across the country. An estimated 8.4 million working Canadians don’t have prescription drug coverage. Even those lucky enough to have prescription drug plans at work are paying more out of pocket because of ever-increasing co-payments and deductibles.
Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health-care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. We have the second-highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States. Canadians have wildly varying prescription drug coverage and uneven access to prescription drugs, and often pay different rates for the same medications depending on where they live.
We aren’t benefitting from the current system, but pharmaceutical and private insurance companies are. Pharmaceutical companies can charge higher prices for commonly used drugs because they are selling to so many buyers. Private insurance companies benefit by charging employers, unions and employees to administer private drug insurance plans.
In New Zealand, where a public authority negotiates on behalf of the entire country, a year’s supply of the cholesterol-busting drug Lipitor costs just $15 a year, compared to $811 in Canada.
That’s why Canada needs to combine the purchasing power of all Canadians under one plan. An annual investment of $1 billion by the federal government will mean Canadians save $7.3 billion a year on the medications they need.
It’s time for Canada to catch up to our international peers. It’s time to complete the unfinished business of our medicare system with a universal prescription drug plan that will save money through bulk purchasing power. It’s time for national policy to catch up to the needs — and demands — of Canadians.
All we need now is the political will. It’s time for a plan for everyone.