The government could easily ensure all Canadians have access to coverage by targeting measures at the small minority who currently lack access — similar to their approach with dental care — for a fraction of the cost.
Analysis by the Conference Board of Canada found that 97.2% of Canadians are eligible for some form of prescription drug coverage, leaving only a small 2.8% uninsured gap. These are the people that need help from the government to access medications.
Bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act, sets out the foundational principles for the first phase of national universal single payer pharmacare in Canada, supported by $1.5 billion in budget 2024.
According to 2024 IQVIA data, the federal plan will cover only a fraction of the medications currently available to Canadians on private plans, potentially jeopardizing the access of up to 2 million Canadians with private coverage to their contraceptives and diabetes medications or devices who could be forced to switch treatments.
Nearly 1 million diabetics in Canada are covered through their health benefit plan for medications that are not on the federal single payer plan. Options for those with advanced illness (e.g. insulin resistant) are even more limited.
Displacing Canadians onto a public option will restrict access to new life-saving and life-improving medicines. Public plans take over two years on average to cover new medicines, if they cover them at all, compared to just 226 days for private plans.
Between 2018 and 2022 public plans covered only 18% of new medicines, on average, approved by Health Canada, compared to 64% for private plans.
The government could easily ensure all Canadians have access to coverage by targeting measures at the small minority who currently lack access, like they did with Dental Care, for a fraction of the cost.
The government has explicitly stated that this is only the initial phase of introducing a comprehensive single-payer pharmacare program. According to estimates from the Parliamentary Budget Office, the full implementation of this plan is projected to cost $38.9 billion.
The government could easily ensure all Canadians have access to coverage by targeting measures at the small minority who currently lack access — similar to their approach with dental care — for a fraction of the cost.
As the legislation progresses through parliamentary and public discourse, the government should adopt a more pragmatic approach, ensuring coverage for those currently without it, while simultaneously providing all Canadians with expedited access to a wider range of life-saving and life-enhancing medications.
“Do I want to wait more than three times longer for fewer than a third of the new drugs I currently have access to through my employer?”
“Does transitioning from a system that most Canadians are happy with to a single-payer plan solve the problem at hand?”
As the unified voice of Canadian business, we represent our members’ interests on policies, regulations and decisions that are critical to creating a favourable environment for business success and the future of Canada.
What this means for members is access and influence that no single organization can achieve on its own. Adding your voice to our work makes us all stronger. Learn how you can gain more influence and explore our strategic issues in more detail.
