Notley promises to reduce burden of drug costs for senior citizens
Rachel Notley pledged that a re-elected NDP government would cover the prescription costs for the majority of Alberta seniors.
The move, which would cover prescription co-payments for seniors with incomes less than $75,000 per year, would cost the province about $110 million per year.
“Right now there are seniors in Alberta who are actually forced to choose between filling their prescriptions or filling their fridges,” said Notley at a Sherwood Park news conference Friday. “That’s not right.” Currently seniors pay 30 per cent of the cost of a prescription up to a maximum of $25. That’s through a Blue Cross insurance plan for Alberta seniors over 65.
Notley said such costs add up, and prescriptions can be a financial barrier.
“I’ve heard many personal stories from seniors over the years who basically did not factor in the costs of prescription co-pay when they were planning for their retirement,” she said, flanked by NDP Sherwood Park candidate Annie McKitrick and NDP Strathcona-Sherwood Park candidate Moira Vane.
One third of seniors have a chronic need for more than five prescriptions at a time, and five per cent need 10 prescriptions or more, she said.
“This is extremely costly for those who are living on fixed incomes.”
It leads seniors to not fill their prescriptions because they can’t afford them, Notley said.
The NDP estimates the change would apply to four out of five seniors and save them an average of $200 a year.
Notley also touted a deal reached under her government in March, which extended the agreement determining how pharmacies are funded until 2022.
Last year, the Alberta government and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association created a funding framework set to expire March 31, 2020. That deal, projected to save the province $150 million, was extended for two more years.
The agreement saves 8,700 seniors more than $100 per year in prescription costs, and seniors with significant prescription costs will save even more, according to the province.
Notley said Friday that the NDP considered universal funding for seniors’ prescriptions, but is moving forward on an “incremental basis.”
“It would be obviously preferable to make it universal, but in a case like this we also have to balance the cost.
“We are hopeful that we’ve struck the right balance.”
It’s the latest health-care promise from Notley, who continues to double down on the message that the NDP will protect Alberta from a two-tier system she believes would be created under the UCP.
She previously announced an NDP government would add 2,000 more long-term-care beds, costing about $170 million. She has also promised $90 million per year to help reduce surgical wait times and to increase emergency care.
UCP Leader Jason Kenney, who has said his party will guarantee public and accessible health care, is pushing for private options, much like the system in B.C. and Quebec.