Godlove Kamwa, Initiative of local journalism
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These organizations have launched a campaign that ultimately aims to give Canadians access to the drugs they need through a national, universal, public, single-payer drug plan.
The pressure tactics were put in place by the Heart + Stroke organization, the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (FCSII) who are working together for the first time around this commitment. common. The online campaign heartandstroke.ca/druginsurance aims to enable Canadians to write to the federal government “urging it to take immediate action on its commitment to achieve universal national pharmacare, in particular by allocating sufficient funds in the next federal budget to initiate the implementation of universal coverage of essential drugs by 1is July 2021. “
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs and therefore their benefits. However, in the past year, Canadians have been twice as likely to lose their prescription drug coverage than to get one, ”revealed Hassan Yussuff, president of the dozens of Canadian Labor Congress. labor organizations representing nearly three million workers across Canada.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions recalled that the federal government’s expert advisory committee had recommended establishing this drug insurance plan and that the government had committed to it. Its president Linda Silas makes it an imperative need of which the urgency is no longer to be demonstrated.
Statistics alert
“Canada is the only country with a universal health care system that does not offer universal pharmacare, leaving 7.5 million people in the country without drug coverage or with insufficient coverage »According to Heart + Stroke.
“We know that some groups are more affected than others, including racialized people and women. Many people are being forced to make tough decisions about cutting back on food and heating expenses so they can afford the medicine their families need, ”said Heart & Stroke CEO Doug Roth.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made pharmacare a priority in a throne speech, but has since faced some reluctance from the provinces and a study by the Research Institute on Peoples’ Self-Determination (IRAI) which finds it unconstitutional.
Prescription drug costs are the second-largest health spending category after hospitals, according to a statement that said 16% of patients do not have access to treatment for heart disease because of drug costs. Each year, about a thousand people of working age die prematurely from ischemic heart disease or diabetes in part because of “the prohibitive cost of prescription drugs.” “
A national pharmacare program would save $ 5 billion a year in public spending, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
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