Canadian labour organization in B.C. advocating for universal drug coverage

Promises from the British Columbian government to eliminate MSP premiums by 2020 are a step in the right direction, but it's time for Canada to have universal drug coverage, the Canadian Labour Congress says. 

The country's largest labour organization is currently in Vancouver advocating for more changes at the federal level.  

Nearly one million people in Canada struggled to afford medications and spend less on necessities like food and heat to pay for their prescriptions in 2016, a Statistics Canada health study reported earlier this month.

"The gap in this country in terms of those who actually have coverage and those who are struggling to deal with access to medication is going to continue to grow," said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

The organization is hosting a series of town halls across the country including one that was held in Surrey earlier this week and another in Vancouver on Wednesday.

Right now, most Canadians are covered by a patchwork of public and private drug plans and it's time for a change, he told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.

Variation in coverage

In British Columbia, PharmaCare covers eligible prescription drugs and medical supplies through a number of different drug plans. Medications not covered are often paid out of pocket.

In some cases, medication for certain rare diseases are covered in other parts of Canada but not in British Columbia.

In other cases, access to medication depends on one's workplace and the coverage plan offered to employees.

Workplace coverage is not always a guarantee that the financial burden is alleviated either, argued Yussuff.

"There were a number of workers [at the town hall event in Surrey] that actually have workplace coverage, but the deductible that they have to pay is $1,000 per year," he said. "These are people who are struggling already to make ends meet."

Cost of change

A House of Commons health committee has been looking into the proposal.

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that a national plan could save the government $4.2 billion a year due to bulk-buying of drugs. But it also estimates a net additional tax burden of at least $7.3 billion, if the public sector absorbs private plans and people's out-of-pocket expenses.

"We want to set the stage where the political parties are going to debate this publicly [leading up to the 2019 federal election]," he said.

The Canadian Labour Congress's town hall on the topic is Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Vancouver and starts at 6:30 p.m.

With files from The Early Edition.