{"id":15741,"date":"2019-06-19T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T04:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/Life-Insurance-Blog\/pharmacare-report-draws-commendation-and-condemnation\/"},"modified":"2019-06-19T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T04:00:01","slug":"pharmacare-report-draws-commendation-and-condemnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2019\/06\/19\/pharmacare-report-draws-commendation-and-condemnation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacare report draws commendation and condemnation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last week, the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare released its final report on the issue, which called for universal single-payer public pharmacare across the country. Following that report, stakeholders from all sides have weighed in, offering reactions that run the gamut from praise to criticism.<\/p>\n

A statement from the Registered Nurses\u2019 Association of Ontario (RNAO) expressed agreement with the report\u2019s 60 recommendations. Citing the $34 billion reportedly spent by Canadians on prescription medication in 2018, the RNAO urged the federal government to quickly implement all the report\u2019s proposals and accelerate its suggested timelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear a single-payer system would save Canadians’ lives and money. It is also clear that Canadians and provincial and territorial governments are struggling with the high and escalating cost of drugs,\u201d said Dr. Angela Cooper Brathwaite, president of the RNAO.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Life and Health Industry Association (CLHIA), meanwhile, offered more measured support. It urged the federal government to move forward on controlling prescription-drug costs and expanding access to prescription medicines, particularly those without coverage and those struggling with catastrophic drug costs. That includes the creation of a new Canadian Drug Agency, introduction of funds earmarked to improve access to high-cost drugs for rare diseases, and modernization of the Patented Medicine Pricing Review Board.<\/p>\n

But speaking for his organization, CLHIA President and CEO Stephen Frank said that \u201cgovernment plans and insurer-based plans should cooperate to negotiate lower drug prices for all Canadians \u2026 We believe that this kind of collaboration can achieve the goals of national pharmacare today without incurring the kinds of costs envisioned in today\u2019s report.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) also offered agreement with reservations. \u201cA national Pharmacare system may be a benefit for the millions of Canadians who are self-employed or for small employers who cannot afford to offer coverage as an employee benefit,\u201d said CFIB President Dan Kelly. \u201cBut the program shouldn’t come as an additional tax burden for small business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

A statement from the group noted that most small-business owners who support a Pharmacare plan oppose the idea of funding it through a GST increase, payroll taxes, or increases in personal taxes. Rather, it should be funded through savings from lower negotiated drug prices and reallocating funds freed up from cutting existing spending.<\/p>\n

Jason Lietaer, president of national communications firm Enterprise Canada, disagreed with the proposal more adamantly. In a commentary published in the National Post, he blasted the the $15 billion-a-year price tag attached to the National Pharmacare proposal as a \u201cdebilitating\u201d cost. He called instead for a more targeted approach \u2014 insuring those who don\u2019t have coverage \u2014 that he said would cost just about $2-3 billion.<\/p>\n

He also noted that Health Minister Eric Hoskins has pegged savings from Pharmacare at $2.8 billion a year, while Canadians would have to absorb an extra $15 billion in taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have some confidence the Trudeau government will see that it can meet its objectives (political and policy) with a more modest approach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read the original article at https:\/\/www.lifehealthpro.ca\/rss\/ <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare released its final report on the issue, which called for universal single-payer public pharmacare across the country. Following that report, stakeholders from all...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}