Nigel S B Rawson1,2,3. 1. Eastlake Research Group, Oakville, ON, Canada. 2. Canadian Health Policy Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada. 3. Fraser Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Abstract
Canada's federal government intends to take steps to implement national pharmacare so that all Canadians have prescription drug coverage they need at an affordable price. Relatively limited funds have so far been pledged to support national pharmacare, which raises the question: what kind of program is envisioned? Since the government has already introduced regulations intended to reduce new drug prices drastically, national pharmacare seems likely to be a basic system designed to assist low-income Canadians with accessing primary care medicines. What Canadians actually need is a system that provides access to the medicine considered appropriate by the patient and their healthcare provider for the patient's specific condition. Equitable national pharmacare will not be achieved if patients are denied access to new high-cost specialized medicines that can improve or extend their lives, any more than if patients who cannot afford basic drugs are not helped.
Canada's federal government intends to take steps to implement national pharmacare so that all Canadians have prescription drug coverage they need at an affordable price. Relatively limited funds have so far been pledged to support national pharmacare, which raises the question: what kind of program is envisioned? Since the government has already introduced regulations intended to reduce new drug prices drastically, national pharmacare seems likely to be a basic system designed to assist low-income Canadians with accessing primary care medicines. What Canadians actually need is a system that provides access to the medicine considered appropriate by the patient and their healthcare provider for the patient's specific condition. Equitable national pharmacare will not be achieved if patients are denied access to new high-cost specialized medicines that can improve or extend their lives, any more than if patients who cannot afford basic drugs are not helped.
Authors: Melina Arnold; Mark J Rutherford; Aude Bardot; Jacques Ferlay; Therese M-L Andersson; Tor Åge Myklebust; Hanna Tervonen; Vicky Thursfield; David Ransom; Lorraine Shack; Ryan R Woods; Donna Turner; Suzanne Leonfellner; Susan Ryan; Nathalie Saint-Jacques; Prithwish De; Carol McClure; Agnihotram V Ramanakumar; Heather Stuart-Panko; Gerda Engholm; Paul M Walsh; Christopher Jackson; Sally Vernon; Eileen Morgan; Anna Gavin; David S Morrison; Dyfed W Huws; Geoff Porter; John Butler; Heather Bryant; David C Currow; Sara Hiom; D Max Parkin; Peter Sasieni; Paul C Lambert; Bjørn Møller; Isabelle Soerjomataram; Freddie Bray Journal: Lancet Oncol Date: 2019-09-11 Impact factor: 41.316