The pharmacare act passed into law last October after being introduced by the Liberals following protracted negotiations with the New Democrats.Ryan Remiorz
Ottawa must resume talks with jurisdictions that have not yet reached agreements to ensure free access to diabetes medications and supplies, as well as contraceptives, said the former chair of a pharmacare advisory council.
Eric Hoskins, whose council issued a report on the implementation of pharmacare in 2019, said in an interview there are currently millions of Canadians who could benefit from the federal government providing public coverage so patients do not have to pay out of pocket.
But the medical doctor and former Ontario doctor said this is up in the air “unless you’re lucky enough” to be from one of four jurisdictions – Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Yukon – which reached pharmacare agreements before the spring federal election campaign.
“I know there’s a lot of anxiety out there,” he said. “It’s really important for the federal government to demonstrate clearly what its intent is.”
Dr. Hoskins also said the law cannot be implemented in a way that is “fundamentally unfair and inequitable.”
Before the election campaign, Dr. Hoskins called upon provinces and territories to try and reach agreements, saying that the chance may not exist after the election. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other MPs from his caucus made their opposition to the Pharmacare Act known in Parliament and voted against it.
The act passed into law last October after being introduced by the Liberals following protracted negotiations with the New Democrats. The bill was a key part of an agreement between the two parties that saw NDP MPs support the Liberal government under then-prime-minister Justin Trudeau.
During the campaign, the federal NDP and health organizations questioned if a Liberal government under Leader Mark Carney would negotiate additional agreements. Mr. Carney said the Liberals were committed to “keeping what is in place.” But he said “broader judgments” would take place in the context of a “range of priorities.”
In recent weeks, a growing number of health care organizations have raised concerns about the fate of future agreements with other provinces. Several provinces and territories have also publicly said they are ready to come to the table but the federal government has yet to start talks.
A media advisory distributed on Monday afternoon said the non-profit organizations Friends of Medicare and the Canadian Health Coalition plan to hold a rally outside of a meeting of Liberal MPs from across Canada in Edmonton, which begins Tuesday. The release said they intend to “send a strong message” to Mr. Carney and his government that Canadians need urgent action on pharmacare.
Last week, federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel told the online publication iPolitics that the government is in a “very special context,” referring to the trade war spurred by the U.S.
Ms. Michel said “everything is still on the table” and the government is “tracking” agreements already reached to see how it works.
Dr. Hoskins said uncertainty brought by U.S. President Donald Trump has required the government to focus on protecting Canadians and building economic security.
In the context of tariffs, when hardship is expected to be greater at the level of individuals and families, Dr. Hoskins hopes the federal government can find an additional $200- to $300-million to fulfil the pharmacare law.
In response to Ms. Michel’s comments on seeing how existing agreements work, Dr. Hoskins said there is nothing further to evaluate. “This was always about making costly medicine free and accessible, uniformly accessible,” he said.
He said, for example, that patients who depend on insulin in B.C. who used to have to pay out of pocket for their medication will access the drugs for free under the provincial-federal deal.
Dr. Hoskins said the Liberal approach is about fairness and equity and this means public coverage for diabetes medications, supplies and contraceptives across the country.
“We don’t have that,” he said. “We’re the third of the way there on this.”
