Close X
Sunday, November 17, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ottawa names experts to advise on creation of national pharmacare program

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Nov, 2024 04:06 PM
  • Ottawa names experts to advise on creation of national pharmacare program

The federal government has tapped a panel of five experts to craft the path toward a universal pharmacare program.

Dr. Nav Persaud, the Canada Research Chair in health justice, will chair a committee that includes a variety of health-care professionals who are tasked with advising the government on the next steps of the program.

The Liberals and NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement. 

The bill became law on Oct. 10, and allows the federal government to sign agreements with the provinces and territories to begin providing free access to contraceptives and diabetes medication. 

Separately, the expert committee will come up with recommendations for creating a universal, single-payer pharmacare program.

The committee will submit a report to the health minister by Oct. 10, 2025, and that report will go to Parliament.

The experts include Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions; Amy Lamb, executive director of the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada; Dr. Stéphane Ahern, an associate clinical professor at the Université de Montréal ; and Dr. Steve Morgan, an expert on pharmacare systems at the University of British Columbia.

The committee will engage with provinces and territories, Indigenous groups and experts as it prepares the report. 

In a statement, the NDP says it welcomes the appointment of the committee. 

The federal Conservatives have said they would reject a single-payer drug plan if they form government. 

Conservative governments in Alberta and Ontario have also expressed skepticism about signing onto the initial deals with the Liberal government.

Health Minister Mark Holland has said he hopes to have deals signed with all provinces and territories by next spring to begin coverage of birth-control and diabetes medications. 

British Columbia has already signed a memorandum of understanding to provide coverage. Manitoba's NDP government began covering prescription birth control on Oct. 1 and has indicated interest in making a deal with Ottawa.

That initial program is a universal, first-dollar, single-payer model, according to Holland, meaning that patients will not pay for the medications. People with a private health plan that covers the medicines can choose whether to use their health coverage or the federal plan.

But when asked about the national program's structure last month, Holland refused to speculate on whether it will be a mixed-payer system or a single-payer system.

Instead, he said the expert panel will be tasked with sorting out what type of system will work best.

MORE National ARTICLES

Joly says Canada bars any Canadian-made arms from reaching Gaza

Joly says Canada bars any Canadian-made arms from reaching Gaza
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa prohibits any Canadian-made weapons from reaching the Gaza Strip. Her comments come weeks after the U.S. announced plans to send Quebec-made ammunition to Israel.

Joly says Canada bars any Canadian-made arms from reaching Gaza

Woman asked to be taken to hospital before she died in cell, says police watchdog

Woman asked to be taken to hospital before she died in cell, says police watchdog
British Columbia's police watchdog says a woman who died of an overdose in an RCMP jail cell had asked to go to hospital twice. A report released by the Independent Investigations Office says the case continues to raise concerns about how intoxicated prisoners are housed in B.C., as police aren't trained medical personnel and jail cells aren't the best place for such people.

Woman asked to be taken to hospital before she died in cell, says police watchdog

2 assaulted in a Surrey park

2 assaulted in a Surrey park
Mounties are looking for witnesses after an assault of two men in a Surrey park that left one with life-threatening injuries. They say officers responded on Sunday around 12:40 A-M to a report of a disturbance and arrived to find two victims.

2 assaulted in a Surrey park

Woman charged in Surrey stabbing

Woman charged in Surrey stabbing
Mounties in Surrey say a woman has been charged in the weekend stabbing in the city. They say officers responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck around 2:15 A-M on Saturday, but arrived to find a woman suffering from stab wounds.

Woman charged in Surrey stabbing

B.C. files unexplained wealth order following Vancouver shooting investigation

B.C. files unexplained wealth order following Vancouver shooting investigation
British Columbia's Public Safety Ministry says it has filed an unexplained wealth order application in court following a 2023 shooting at a Vancouver home. As part of a criminal investigation, the ministry says a suspect's home was searched and police discovered an illegal cannabis-growing operation, ammunition and more than $1.4 million in cash. 

B.C. files unexplained wealth order following Vancouver shooting investigation

Weather aids B.C. fire fight amid evacuation order and alerts in southeast

Weather aids B.C. fire fight amid evacuation order and alerts in southeast
The BC Wildfire Service says rain, light winds and cooler temperatures are expected to decrease fire behaviour in the province this week, just as a newly discovered blaze in the East Kootenays prompts an evacuation order and alerts for more than 50 properties.

Weather aids B.C. fire fight amid evacuation order and alerts in southeast