Letter: Alberta government opting out of pharmacare would prove they don’t care about people

By Letter to the Editor on February 29, 2024.

Dear editor,

Canadians have something to celebrate, but maybe not Albertans. On Feb. 23, under the Supply and Confidence Agreement, the Liberal government and the NDP reached a long-anticipated deal on a National Pharmacare program based on a single-payer system and the Canada Health Act.

While the initial legislation, due this week, will only include diabetes and birth control medications, it leaves the door open for further advances to give Canadians access to life-changing medicines.

Even people with private insurance often can’t afford their prescriptions due to expensive co-payments or deductibles. About 20% of people overall can’t afford prescription drugs.

The full details of the legislation are not yet known but the Council of Canadians says, “It looks like the Canadian Pharmacare Act will include plans to develop a list of essential medicines that would be covered by pharmacare and a bulk purchasing plan, as well as an ‘implementation council’ to advise on financing, … the legislation is expected to lay out steps for expanding coverage to a longer list of essential medicines.”

This represents one of the biggest advances in Canadian health care in decades. With details yet to be revealed however, the Alberta Government has released a statement saying it will opt out of this plan.

They apparently care more for the profits of insurance and pharmaceutical companies than the well-being of Albertans. Shame!

Canada has been the only country with universal medicare to not have pharmacare included.

This is a big victory, but Albertans must let this government know that we expect to be included.

Thanks, as well, to organizations like the Council of Canadians, the Canadian Healthcare Coalition (Friends of Medicare) and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, among many, for their hard work in pushing both the Liberals and NDP bring this about.

David Condon

Medicine Hat

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