Alberta and Quebec have announced plans to “opt out” of Ottawa’s proposed national pharmacare program, citing a lack of consultation and the potential for high provincial administrative costs.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia both remain on the fence about the program, saying they would require more information before making any decisions. New Brunswick described the announcement of such a program without provincial consultation as “irresponsible.”
Quebec took a harder line. The province issued a statement saying it will “demand an unconditional right of withdrawal” from a national pharmacare program and would expect “full compensation.”
“The government of Canada should let the provinces take care of their areas of expertise and play its role of adequately funding care by increasing health transfers,” the province said.
Alberta also said it would opt out of the program and would expect to receive its “full per capita share of that funding for deployment into our provincial Health Care system.”
“Alberta’s government was not consulted on the national pharmacare plan and there are limitations in the initial analysis and assumptions, including, start-up investment and administrative costs to implement a cost-sharing model that were not taken into consideration that add cost for provinces,” a spokesperson for Alberta Health Minister Adrianna LaGrange said in a statement.
The spokesperson said most Albertan residents can access contraceptives through employer or government health-care insurance plans.
The NDP reached an agreement with the Liberal government on the national pharmacare program last week as part of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the two parties.
The agreement provides the Liberal minority government with assurance the NDP will side with them on votes of confidence in the House of Commons.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has stressed the importance of making health care less of a financial burden for Canadians. He said the upcoming legislation would provide “medicine you need with your health card, not a credit card.”
“Provinces balked at the idea of universal health care. [The pharmacare issue is] no different,” he said Feb. 25. “It took time, it took negotiating, and it took some provinces stepping up and agreeing, and then other provinces followed suit.”
The proposed plan would provide full coverage for contraceptives, including birth control pills, IUDs, and emergency contraception. It will also include coverage for insulin and additional medications for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, prioritizing generic drugs. The bill excludes coverage for Ozempic, a diabetes medication often used off-label for weight loss.
Full details of the agreement, which also includes free dental care, have yet to be released. The legislation is expected to be introduced in the House of Commons this week.
