PBO report bolsters NDP push for national pharmacare

OTTAWA – The Parliamentary Budget Office released a report today that examined the costs of a national pharmacare program and found that even with high levels of coverage, a public drug plan would save Canadians more than $4 billion a year.

“Too many Canadians are forced to choose between refilling their fridge and refilling their prescriptions,” said Don Davies, the NDP’s Health Critic. “The NDP has long advocated for a national pharmacare program and this report proves we can’t afford to wait any longer.”

Canada is the only developed country in the world that has a public healthcare system which doesn’t include prescription drug coverage. While the PBO report uses Quebec’s broad formulary of coverage projected across the country, it remains conservative in its estimates by not including savings from administrative and downstream benefits.

“Quebec has already taken leadership but it’s time that the federal government showed some and implemented a system to reduce costs for all Canadians,” said Alexandre Boulerice, NDP Finance Critic. “We can help make Canadians healthier and save money while we’re doing it."

The PBO report is part of a pharmacare study taking place at Health Committee, which was launched by a motion from Davies.