A plan to save billions

Universal drug plan would save billions

As the year draws to a close, I like to think about resolutions that could make our health-care system better.

One idea that has come up a few times in recent years and which I believe deserves a closer look is a national drug plan.

You may remember the claim from UBC researchers last year that Canada would save billions of dollars if we instituted a national drug plan.

A report was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal making this assertion and it rightly attracted a lot of attention and conversation across the country.

For years some groups and political parties have advocated for universal drug coverage while others have decried the idea saying it would be prohibitively expensive to administer.

Canadians are proud of our universal health care system in which everyone can visit a doctor or have a hospital stay without personal cost or private insurance.

A drug plan is an extension of this idea – where every Canadian would be covered for medically necessary medications regardless of employment insurance or income.

We are the only developed country with universal health care that does not have a drug plan like this.

Although it sounds like a very expensive prospect, the current research showed a national drug program would likely cost government approximately $1 billion a year, but would save the private sector roughly $8.5 billion a year spent on prescription drugs often through employee drug plans.

Savings would occur through economies of scale – the government, as a large purchaser, would save about 10 per cent through better generic prices, 10 per cent on brand name prices and another 10 per cent by encouraging more cost-effective prescribing.

If Canada managed spending comparable to countries like Switzerland, Italy or Spain and got rates of generic drug use seen in some provincial drug plans, a universal public drug plan would reduce total spending on prescription drugs by $7.3 billion per year.

One in 10 Canadians find medication costs prohibitive. Many Canadians avoid treatments or skip dosages to have their medicine last longer and save money.

Some choose life-saving medicine over food in their budgeting.

Pharmacare does not cover many medications, particularly newer ones that tend to be more expensive. Physicians have to spend valuable time applying for special authority to try to get these medications covered, often unsuccessfully.

This is happening today in our country and is not acceptable. I think most Canadians want to live somewhere that affords everyone the basic right to health and dignity.

Not only would we save money directly through prescription drug costs with a universal drug plan, but we would also save unnecessary acute health care costs.

People would be more likely to take medications as recommended and would likely avoid many hospital stays and emergencies resulting from unmanaged conditions and health complications.

Right now every province manages its own healthcare dollars. For a national drug plan to work, we would need cooperation between provinces and some direction at a federal level.

This may sound daunting, but I believe it is possible if we balance individual interests with the benefit a plan such as this would give to all Canadians.

I encourage everyone to become an advocate. Change doesn’t happen unless we make it happen.

Contact your provincial and federal representatives today. We can have a country with healthcare that is truly accessible for all.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.