National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”

Canada’s federal government intends to take steps to implement national pharmacare so that all Canadians have prescription drug coverage they need at an affordable price. Relatively limited funds have so far been pledged to support national pharmacare, which raises the question: what kind of program...

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Main Author: Nigel S. B. Rawson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2020-12-01
Series:International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3731_23694df7ebb0a6719deffc0eecf7eea1.pdf
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author Nigel S. B. Rawson
author_facet Nigel S. B. Rawson
author_sort Nigel S. B. Rawson
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description Canada’s federal government intends to take steps to implement national pharmacare so that all Canadians have prescription drug coverage they need at an affordable price. Relatively limited funds have so far been pledged to support national pharmacare, which raises the question: what kind of program is envisioned? Since the government has already introduced regulations intended to reduce new drug prices drastically, national pharmacare seems likely to be a basic system designed to assist low-income Canadians with accessing primary care medicines. What Canadians actually need is a system that provides access to the medicine considered appropriate by the patient and their healthcare provider for the patient’s specific condition. Equitable national pharmacare will not be achieved if patients are denied access to new high-cost specialized medicines that can improve or extend their lives, any more than if patients who cannot afford basic drugs are not helped.
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spelling doaj.art-a67a782beedd4b1eac23299253ac21fe2023-03-07T09:02:28ZengKerman University of Medical SciencesInternational Journal of Health Policy and Management2322-59392020-12-0191252452710.15171/ijhpm.2019.1463731National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”Nigel S. B. Rawson0Eastlake Research Group, Oakville, ON, CanadaCanada’s federal government intends to take steps to implement national pharmacare so that all Canadians have prescription drug coverage they need at an affordable price. Relatively limited funds have so far been pledged to support national pharmacare, which raises the question: what kind of program is envisioned? Since the government has already introduced regulations intended to reduce new drug prices drastically, national pharmacare seems likely to be a basic system designed to assist low-income Canadians with accessing primary care medicines. What Canadians actually need is a system that provides access to the medicine considered appropriate by the patient and their healthcare provider for the patient’s specific condition. Equitable national pharmacare will not be achieved if patients are denied access to new high-cost specialized medicines that can improve or extend their lives, any more than if patients who cannot afford basic drugs are not helped.https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3731_23694df7ebb0a6719deffc0eecf7eea1.pdfuniversal pharmacarehealth policyspecialized care drugsaccessibilityequity
spellingShingle Nigel S. B. Rawson
National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
universal pharmacare
health policy
specialized care drugs
accessibility
equity
title National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
title_full National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
title_fullStr National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
title_full_unstemmed National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
title_short National Pharmacare in Canada: Equality or Equity, Accessibility or Affordability; Comment on “Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare”
title_sort national pharmacare in canada equality or equity accessibility or affordability comment on universal pharmacare in canada a prescription for equity in healthcare
topic universal pharmacare
health policy
specialized care drugs
accessibility
equity
url https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3731_23694df7ebb0a6719deffc0eecf7eea1.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT nigelsbrawson nationalpharmacareincanadaequalityorequityaccessibilityoraffordabilitycommentonuniversalpharmacareincanadaaprescriptionforequityinhealthcare