An advisory council on the implementation of a national pharmacare program is recommending the federal government create a national drug agency and a master list of prescription medications that all Canadians would have access to, former Ontario health Minister Eric Hoskins announced Wednesday.Flanked by researchers in white labcoats at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Hoskins described the council’s recommendations as the “building blocks” of the new plan for national pharmacare.“Simply maintaining the status quo is not an option,” he told reporters.“Too many people are falling through the cracks, the current system is inadequate”Hoskins is chair of the advisory council on the implementation of pharmacare, which was created by the federal Liberals last year. The council’s full report is due in spring 2019. Joined by Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Finance Minsiter Bill Morneau, he also faced questions about the timing of the news conference, and the release of an eight-page interim report containing scant detail, which came shortly before Gerald Butts, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former principal secretary, began testimony over the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal.Hoskins, who is also recommending investing in IT infrastructure and data on prescription drugs, said an interim report was always planned.“The past few weeks have been difficult,” said Petipas, adding the Liberals must “continue to govern as a party.”Morneau called pharmacare the “unfinished business of the Canadian health care system.” But he wouldn’t comment on how much there might be for a plan in the Liberals’ upcoming budget. “We will take a look at this informed by the interim report,” he said.Drugs are the fastest-growing segment of health spending, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. A 2017 analysis by the parliamentary budget officer est ...
|
