Layton pledges $1B to help families with prescription drugs

From the Vancouver Province:
NDP Leader Jack Layton is promising $1 billion a year to help patients pay for prescription drugs.

"The cost of prescription drugs is hurting families across Canada," Layton said at BCIT's Burnaby campus Friday morning.

The plan would support patients who spend more than $1,500 annually on medication, and is based on the Romanow report on the future of health care.

Layton also wants to set up a national program to bulk-buy medications, and to replace patent drugs with lower-cost generic drugs. ...more

Clement open to drug plan but sees other options

From CTV News:
Conservative Health Minister Tony Clement says he's open to creating a catastrophic-illness drug plan such as the one promised by the Liberals and the New Democrats, but a brand new initiative isn't the only solution.

Speaking to CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday, Clement said there is already money in the health care system that could go towards prescription drugs if the provinces and feds could work together on the issue.

"What I've said to my provincial counterparts is I'm willing to go forward with a new initiative, but there's money in the system now," Clement said from Huntsville, Ont.

"If we work together to do bulk purchasing of pharmaceutical products, if we work together to reduce our generic drug costs -- because our costs are 25 to 30 per cent higher than they have in the U.S -- then we can find the money to put to new, innovative drugs or drugs for rare diseases." ...more

Dion vows $900-million for catastrophic drug plan

It was inevitable that one of the parties would promise a national pharmacare plan of some sort. This might have some appeal in the Atlantic provinces, which appears to be behind the rest of the country when it comes to providing a comprehensive provincial drug plan. However, this issue never really seems to go anywhere. I think it's because there isn't a huge demand for it among most Canadians, who typically have existing drug coverage through the government or their employer.

From the Globe and Mail:
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion promised a national program to fund high-cost drug treatments for people who suffer from serious and chronic illnesses, a program aimed at extending coverage to provinces in Atlantic Canada that don't have provincial drug plans.

The Liberals said the plan would cost $900-million over four years, and ensure people in all provinces can afford expensive drugs like kidney-cancer treatments that can run as much as $7,000 per month.

Most Canadian provinces already have drug plans of some kinds, but the four Atlantic Canadian provinces have far less coverage, especially for middle-income people under 65. ...more