NDP speaks to UCP’s denial of pharmacare

Liam Rockliffe, Staff Writer | 

On Feb. 29, NDP, in a joint manoeuvre with the Liberal Party of Canada, tabled their new bill for pharmacare. 

This early-stage pharmacare plan includes complete coverage of contraceptives and diabetic medication — prescriptions that would save people with diabetes and birth control users thousands of dollars a year.

This plan, upon release, was almost immediately shut down by Alberta’s Health Minister Adrianna LaGrange. She said she wants Ottawa to give Alberta per-capita funding to bolster its own program instead of forcing the province to sign-on to a national program. In a statement to the press LaGrange stated, “Give us the dollars. Allow us to enhance the programs we actually have now, rather than create more bureaucracy.”

To LaGrange’s point Alberta does have a fairly economic pharmaceutical system. In Alberta the ​​lowest costs for type 1 and 2 diabetes for individuals with a family income less than $30,000. This is incredibly beneficial as the cost for type one diabetes can be as high as $18,000 in other areas of Canada. 

However, the immediate dismissal of the program seemed harsh to many. 

Dr. Luanne Metz, Alberta NDP Critic for Health, released a statement saying,  “Instead of embracing the new program, Danielle Smith has predictably rejected it out of hand, before understanding any details.” 

“Instead of welcoming assistance for Albertans who are suffering from the affordability crisis, the UCP has continued its schoolyard scrap with the federal government and is bowing to pressure from lobbyists.”

Fight for Albertans

Dr. Luanne Metz is the MLA for Calgary-Varsity and  holds a 40 year background as a physician and medical researcher.

She told The Reflector: “We need comprehensive national pharmacare as this will improve the health of Canadians and in the long run it is an investment in health, allowing for money to be spent elsewhere.” A national pharmacare program reduces overall cost by bulk buying of drugs, which can be negotiated much more favourably at a national level. “If diabetes is properly treated, people also remain healthier, won’t be in and out of the health system, and it also means they can be better contributors to our economy.”

The start of the national pharmacare program is just the two medications, but it will grow as time progresses. 

Metz was unsatisfied with the UCP’s immediate denial, saying that the UCP is fighting the federal government instead of fighting for Albertans.

 “The current program in Alberta is good if you can afford it, but there are many people who do not have drug coverage, due to being unemployed or unable to pay for premiums.” 

Assurance for students and graduates

Early professionals and students would have benefited greatly from  a national pharmacare program.

Early professionals rarely have benefits in their entry level jobs and university plans can only cover so much of the cost. Metz said the program gives early professionals the assurance that they are covered no matter what.

A concern to the national pharmacare program is that new developments in medicine may be unable to reach the intended audience and that people can be “locked in” to their old medications. Metz counters this by saying, “New products have to be evaluated for safety, as well as value, while new products may have minor benefits, the cost of these products can be enormous.”

Metz argues that new developments aren’t the intention of a national program, and instead it is more important that everyone has access to the basics. 

Lowing prices

A national pharmacare program also lowers the price to hospitals which allows them to improve in other areas, such as nursing wages and technology. 

For low-income women, Metz states that the plan is “Critically important, unplanned pregnancy limits the opportunities for women and families and can be a burden to our whole system and societies.”

Lastly, Metz commented on how the NDP would have handled the situation differently. 

“Alberta’s NDP would have been delighted, as the party who brought in medicare and CPP [the Canadian Pension Plan], the pharmacare program would be welcomed, but the immediate focus would be finding out more information and negotiations to get the best deal for Albertans.” 

In the NDP’s election platform last year, free contraception was a core goal of the Alberta NDP party.

Canada is the only country in the world with universal healthcare that does not have a universal pharmacare program. Canadians spend the second most in the world, just behind the USA.

The high cost associated with medication can drive individuals to not take their required medications. Health Canada released a study on the topic in 2019 stating, “23 per cent of Canadians reported that, in the previous year, they or someone else in their household did not take their prescription medications as prescribed, if at all, because of their cost.”

Pharmacare in Canada has been a long debated issue, and as time carries on, it appears it will remain in high contention–at least in Alberta.