Provincial drug plans

As a country, we provide universal access to medically necessary hospital care, diagnostic tests and physician services based solely on need. If s a point of national
pride. But Canadian "medicare" — as it is affectionately known — ends as soon as a patient is given a prescription to fill.
Provincial drug plans cover only limited populations, such as seniors or social assistance recipients, or limited costs (such as costs exceeding "catastrophic" deductibles). Private drug insurance is a perk not easily obtained by Canadians who
are retired, self-employed or employees of small companies.when the asthma gets out of control.

Canada's health insurance system was developed in stages, starting with the components of health care that were the most important at the time. Coverage for hospital care and diagnostic tests was established in the 1950s, followed by coverage
for medical care in the 1960s. The fathers of our medicare system intended that pharmacare and home-care be established next.

The need for pharmacare has not gone unnoticed. In 1997, the National Forum on Health recommended expanding pharmacare across Canada, but the pharmaceutical industry lobbied against such reforms, arguing that Canada could not "afford" the cost
of a national pharmacare system.

The proof is found in virtually all countries comparable to Canada: countries like Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In comparison to Canada, pharmaceutical spending is lower and has been growing more slowly in all of these countries. Yet they all provide better, more equitable access to prescription drugs than Canada through universal pharmacare systems of one form or another.
In the 2012 Emmett Hall Memorial Lecture, Dr. Michael Rachlis said that medicare was one of the best expressions of Canadian democracy because Canadian citizens wanted it and had to fight for it.

If Canadians take pride in their medicare system, and want to achieve better access to medicines at lower costs than they pay today, then maybe it is time for the original vision of medicare — which included pharmacare — to be completed as planned.
Perhaps it is time to fight for pharmacare boosting consumer confidence and helping the country to compete against the world's emerging economic giants.