There is word in the medical community of a new program called “Pharmacare“. Pharmacare is a national program that pays for prescription drugs through a publicly funded system rather than through the consumer’s pocket. The program, which is now being heavily supported by many doctors, allows patients that are unable to pay for prescribed medication to receive their medication. Erik Hoskins said in an interview “I can’t tell you how many times I’d have to go into the sample drawer, because I knew if I gave a prescription to someone, they weren’t going to fill it because they couldn’t afford it.” That being said, this program will speak to Canadian Values that promote equity and fairness and give support to those who are unable to afford prescription drugs.
pharmacare
Canada today, is the only industrialized nation with universal health insurance but no public coverage of prescription drug costs. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada has the second highest spending per capita on prescription drugs. This means that the “patchwork of provincial and territorial health-care systems means Canadians with life-threatening illnesses are confronted with costs that can vary wildly from province to province.” Because Canada does not buy their drugs in bulk, the separate costs vary, producing a wider range of costs and in effect a larger number of costs for prescription drugs. “Everybody knows if you buy your toilet paper in those packages of 40 rolls, you pay less per roll than if you go to the corner store and buy two rolls at a time — it works the same with medications” (Martin). Essentially, by implementing pharmacare, the program would bring more attention to the cost of prescription drugs and allow not only aid to Canadians unable to afford prescription drugs, but also allow potential savings up to $11.4 billion in taxpayer’s money (via reduced administration fees and pharmacare) by buying in bulk.
I believe pharmacare is greatly needed. As the article stated, Canada is the only industrialized nation that offers universal health insurance but no prescription drug coverage. In order to make things fair for Canadians – especially those who are unable to afford prescription drugs, it would be best to put pharmacare into action as soon as possible.
Article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pharmacare-national-prescription-drug-program-gains-support-1.2788351