Putting National Pharmacare on the Federal Agenda: Creation of an Advisory Council

• Main Authors: Michel Grignon (Author), Christopher J. Longo (Author), Gregory P. Marchildon (Author), Stephen Officer (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: McMaster University Library Press, 2019-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.13162/hro-ors.v7i2.3817; 2291-6369
• Keywords: Pharmacare; insurance coverage; consultation; access; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé, Vol 7, Iss 2 (2019)

In June 2018, the Federal Government of Canada created an Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, scheduled to report one year later on the best strategy to implement such a program and give Canadians access to affordable prescription drugs outside of the hospital. The current state of coverage through employer-sponsored plans and public plans conditional on income and age is increasingly perceived as unfair and inefficient. The Council used a mixture of expert consultations, an online survey and discussion forums for the general public to explore three options: a universal public plan, a catastrophic spending plan, or a patching of current coverage to include the non-covered. Creating such a Council was seen by the government as a solution for navigating a complex policy problem with difficult federal-provincial dimensions.