Canadian insurers told a Senate committee that tens of thousands of employers are considering cutbacks for workplace benefits if the Liberal government’s pharmacare bill becomes law.
“Don’t discount the risk that people are going to lose as much as they are going to gain potentially in this legislation. We are already having those discussions,” Stephen Frank, CEO of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, testified at the Senate social affairs committee on Oct. 2.
The bill’s passage would carry “enormous risks” for the estimated 27 million Canadians with workplace drug plans, Frank predicted, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.
“The bill will result in practical and legal barriers to our ability to provide Canadians with the drug benefits they currently have in value,” he said.
Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare, proposes coverage of some diabetes and contraception medication on a pledge that the federal government will “work toward the implementation of national universal pharmacare.” The legislation is currently being considered by Senate committees.
The legislation was a key part of the NDP’s supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals. The NDP had threatened to leave the agreement if the Liberals failed to pass pharmacare legislation by March 1, but a deal was reached one week before the deadline.
Frank told the committee that the association had been receiving calls from employers asking whether they should stop covering the diabetes and contraception drugs for their employees.
“For the majority of Canadians, this legislation, as it is currently written, will eliminate existing prescription drug coverage paid for by employers,” he said.
Senator Patti LaBoucane-Benson questioned Frank’s comments, asking whether employers would negotiate drug plans. Frank said the majority of businesses are too small to conduct such negotiations and usually accept the pre-packaged plans.
Health Minister Mark Holland was critical of the testimony, calling it “fear mongering“ and ”a bunch of malarkey.”
“I’ve got to try to wash that away, that nonsense,” Holland told reporters Oct. 2. “This [bill] was very carefully negotiated. It was done over a long period of time by two different political parties.”
The health minister added that he had not been having “difficult” conversations with provinces and territories because they understand the agreement. “It’s very direct. It’s single-payer, it’s universal, it’s first dollar, and it’s for diabetes and contraceptives,” he said.
Holland also said he hoped the Senate would pass the pharmacare bill by Thanksgiving. “We want to start rolling out these deals and get the medication,” he said. “If they need an extra few days, so be it.”
Canadians shouldn’t lose their workplace drug coverage if the bill becomes law, Holland said during May 23 testimony before the House of Commons health committee.
“To drop your plan because a portion of medicine is covered, it’s just not logical. No company would do that,” he said.
When asked by Conservative MP Laila Goodridge if employers would be forced to cancel their existing plans, he responded, “there is nothing that would change that.”
