Unions rally in Brantford for reinstatement of ban on replacement workers
The Canadian Press
BRANTFORD, Ont. — Union members from across the province will join a picket line in Brantford, Ont., today to press for the reinstatement of legislation banning replacement workers.
Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan says the massive three-day event will take place at Engineered Coated Products.
He says the labour movement is disgusted by the situation at ECP, where a strike is entering its third year.
Ryan says ECP has managed to keep the workers out on strike by busing in non-union workers.
The company demanded a 25 per cent rollback in wages and benefits as well as other concessions from its workers.
Ryan says legislation banning replacement workers, such as that in Quebec and British Columbia, should be implemented in Ontario.
"I've already put the minister of finance and the minister of labour on notice at a meeting last Thursday that we expect the government to start dealing with the question of anti-scab legislation," Ryan said.

[OHC] Coalition releases report on drug plan-would save billions part 1

The Canadian Health Coalition released an important report this week, in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Authored by pharmaceutical policy expert Marc Andre Gagnon, the report shows that Canadians are paying far too much for drugs, and that our patchwork of public plans, private insurance and out-of-pocket costs is inequitable, overly expensive and inefficient. The Ontario government is leading the provinces in trying to establish a common purchasing plan for drugs, so that they can levy bulk-buying power. This report is important and timely. Below, you will find some media coverage that summarizes the story.
Natalie
 

Canadian Health Coalition
MEDICARE WATCH
September 14, 2010
 
PART #1
 
======== Medicare.ca ========
 
1. CBC News (September 13, 2010)
    Universal pharmacare could save billions: study
    (Article & 3 Videos)
 
2. CTV (September 13, 2010)
    Pharmacare program would save billions: report
    (Article & 4 Videos)
 
3. Toronto Star (September 14, 2010)
    Ontario leads the way on drug cost reform
    By Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau
 
4. Toronto Star (September 14, 2010)
    Editorial: Saving money on drugs
 
5. NDP (September 13, 2010)
    Media Release:     National drug strategy could save billions
 
6. Canada Newswire (September 13, 2010)
    RNAO says economic analysis shows Canada can't afford not to have pharmacare
 
7. Toronto Sun (September 13, 2010)
    National drug plan would save billions: expert
    By Laura Payton, Parliamentary Bureau
 
8.  Charlottetown Guardian (September 14, 2010)
    Advocate says Island would benefit most from public pharmacare
    By Jim Day
 
9. Globe And Mail (September 14, 2010)
    Letter to the Editor: Medicare's architecture
    By Sid Frankel
 
10. Le Devoir (14 September 2010)
      Éditorial : Médicaments - Assurance essentielle
 
11. Métro (13 septembre 2010)
      Médicaments: un régime public permettrait de sauver des milliards
      (Article + Video + Radio) 
 
12. Médicaments: Les Canadiens payeraient 30 % trop cher
      Radio-Canada (13 septembre 2010)
 
======== Medicare.ca ========
 
NOTE: More media coverage from yesterday’s release of the new report, The Economic Case for Universal Pharmacare, can be found here:
http://pharmacarenow.ca/media-coverage-09-13-2010
 
1.____________________________________________
 
CBC News (September 13, 2010)
Universal pharmacare could save billions: study
 
A universal pharmacare program could chop more than $10 billion off Canada's annual health-care bill, according to a new policy study that its authors say "explodes the fallacy" that such a plan is unaffordable.
 
The report, released on Monday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, concludes the existing patchwork of private and public plans in Canada is inequitable, inefficient and costly.
 
"Canada’s pharmaceutical policies are a total failure," the study's author, Marc-André Gagnon, told reporters on Monday in Ottawa.
 
The report also finds that Canada is either the third or fourth most expensive country for brand-name drugs every year — ranked among the United States, Switzerland and Germany — because it deliberately inflates drug prices in order to attract pharmaceutical investment.
 
Meanwhile, Canada has one of the highest annual growth of drug costs among industrialized countries — much higher than countries that have universal pharmacare programs, such as France, Australia and Sweden, said Gagnon, a professor of public policy at Carleton University.
 
"The cost of such policies far exceed the benefits to Canadians from having a domestic pharmaceutical industry," he said.
 
The current system is also unfair, Gagnon said, because Canadians receive different coverage depending on what plan they're in and where they live.
 
Last year, a report by the Canadian Cancer Society said some cancer patients pay thousands of dollars per year for drugs that keep them alive, while others don't pay a cent. The society called for an end to the discrepancies.
 
Dr. Joel Lexchin of the Canadian Health Coalition noted that older drugs for high blood pressure, known as water pills, cost just two cents per pill compared with up to $2 per pill for newer medications that are heavily promoted to doctors. The difference raises costs up to 100 times more than necessary, he said.
 
The report comes as provincial and territorial health ministers start a two-day meeting in St. John's, where rising health-care and drug costs are high on the agenda.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/09/13/health-nat-pharmacare-program-ccpa.html
 
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Watch 3 Videos (see right-hand box)
http://www.cbc.ca/video/player.html?category=News&zone=politics&site=cbc.news.ca&clipid=1590466926
 
Descriptions:
 
Universal drug plan could save billions A Canadian pharmacare program could chop more than $10 billion off the annual health-care bill, according to a new policy study
 
Tough questions on health spending The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development warns that health-care costs will balloon if our government doesn't cut back on spending
 
Cheaper drugs for Canadians? Mike McBane, the national co-ordinator of the Canadian Health Coalition, talks about the need for a national drug program with the CBC's Evan Solomon
 
 
2.____________________________________
 
CTV News (September 13, 2010)
Pharmacare program would save billions: report
 
Canada's wildly varying provincial drug plans are not only inefficient and oftentimes unfair, they are overly expensive, contends a new report, which offers a national pharmacare program as an alternative.
 
The report, prepared for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, was written by Carleton University professor and Harvard research fellow Marc-Andre Gagnon and released Monday.
 
It argues that with the power of bulk purchasing, a national plan could cut drug costs by more than 40 per cent -- or by $10.7 billion a year -- by adopting a policy based on market competition.
 
"I must say that we were a bit surprised by the results," Gagnon said at a news conference on Monday.
 
Currently, public drug plans in Canada cover seniors over the age of 65 and recipients of social assistance.
 
The rest of the country tends to depend on private plans offered through their employers or by buying into private plans. But there are as many as eight million Canadians who do not have adequate coverage for prescription drugs, according to the paper.
 
"People are covered according to where they live, or where they work, but not according to their medical needs," Gagnon said.
 
The report contends that Canada pays far too much for medication -- between 16 and 40 per cent more than other industrialized countries. In fact, Canada is the world's third most expensive country for brand name drugs, the report found.
 
It contends that Canadians pay too much for medications because the country deliberately inflates drug prices in order to attract more pharmaceutical investment.
 
"We're being played for suckers right now," said NDP health critic Megan Leslie.
 
"You can't negotiate as a purchaser. But as a country, united, we can negotiate prices" for pharmaceuticals, Leslie told CTV News Channel. "We need to do a variety of innovative things, like what this report is showing, and it can really reduce our costs and improve the health of Canadians."
 
Politicians and stakeholders have discussed the idea of a national pharmacare program for decades, but no federal government -- including this one -- has attempted to start one.
 
This report argues that the provinces could take it upon themselves to co-ordinate a national program, not a federal one. That would allow them to buy drugs and other medical supplies in bulk, and to agree to a common set of standards.
 
Even if a national program wasn't able to negotiate cheaper medication prices, the report predicts it could still offer administration savings ranging from $2.6 billion to $4.5 billion.
 
New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., France and Sweden all have national pharmacare programs that lower drug prices, according to the report.
 
Pharmaceuticals companies say that such programs only look good on paper.
 
"It's been proven around the world -- you're going to cause other health care costs elsewhere in the system," said Russell Williams, the president of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, an industry group that represents producers such as Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline.
 
But in British Columbia, where an aggressive plan for buying pharmaceuticals is already in place, the provincial health minister says the government expects to save $250 million a year by 2014.
 
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100913/pharmacare-program-100913/
 
- - - - - - - - - - -
 
Watch 4 Videos (see right-hand box)
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100913/pharmacare-program-100913/
 
Descriptions:
 
CTV National News: Daniele Hamamdjian reports
A new Canadian report from the OECD is suggesting that Canada's healthcare system is too pricey and recommends that federal and provincial governments find ways to cut spending and eventually scrap the system in favour of a universal Pharmacare plan. 
 
CTV News Channel: Megan Leslie, NDP
The health critic with the NDP in Regina says a universal health care plan would make financial sense and that bulk purchasing is one way of accomplishing cutting our health care costs. 
 
CTV News Channel: Marc-Andre Gagnon, CCPA
The author of the report for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Canada's provincial drug plans are unfair. He says the cost of drugs in Canada is expensive and growing each year, so it is important to act now and change the current plan. 
 
CTV News Channel: Michael McBane, CHC
The national coordinator of the Canadian Health Coalition speaks at a press conference in Ottawa and says, rather than impose user fees on the sick, the government needs to clamp down on pharmaceutical companies and allow for universal pharmacare. 
 
-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Earlier version of CTV Article Follows
-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
 
CTV News (September 13, 2010)
Report: Pharmacare program would save billions
 
Canada's wildly varying provincial drug plans are not only inefficient and oftentimes unfair, they are overly expensive, contends a new report, which offers a national pharmacare program as an alternative.
 
The report, prepared for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, was written by Carleton University professor and Harvard research fellow Marc-André Gagnon and released Monday.
 
It argues that with the power of bulk purchasing, a national plan could save the public coffers more than $10.7 billion if it adopted a drug-purchasing policy based on market competition.
 
"Canadians cannot afford not to have universal pharmacare," Gagnon said in a news release.
 
The report contends that Canada pays far too much for medication – between 16 and 40 per cent more than other industrialized countries. In fact, Canada is the world's third most expensive country for brand name drugs, the report found.
 
It contends that Canadians pay too much for medications because the country deliberately inflates drug prices in order to attract more pharmaceutical investment.
 
Currently in Canada, public drug plans cover seniors over the age of 65 and recipients of social assistance. The rest of the country tends to depend on private plans offered through their employers or by buying into private plans. But there are as many as eight million Canadians who do not have adequate coverage for prescription drugs, according to the paper.
 
"Canada's pharmaceutical policies are a total failure: many Canadians do not have equitable access to medicines; the lack of coverage makes some treatments inefficient; and the whole system is unsustainable because we currently cannot control the growth of drug costs," Gagnon said.
 
Politicians and stakeholders have discussed the idea of a national pharmacare program for decades, but no federal government – including this one -- has attempted to start one.
 
This report argues that the provinces could take it upon themselves to co-ordinate a national program, not a federal one. That would allow them to buy drugs and other medical supplies in bulk, and to agree to a common set of standards.
 
The report argues that even if such a national program weren't able to negotiate cheaper medication prices, it could still offer administration savings ranging from $2.6 billion to $4.5 billion.
 
The report points to the examples of New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., France and Sweden, which all have national pharmacare programs and which all have lower drug prices.
 
Michael McBane, national co-ordinator for the Canadian Health Coalition, urged the federal government on Monday to take action.
 
He said the feds have shirked responsibilities on the issue by saying health care is solely a provincial responsibility. That argument doesn't hold water, he said, since pharmaceuticals fall under federal regulation.
 
"We hope the federal government will work in collaboration with its partners in the provinces and territories and assume the leadership to implement a drug insurance plan that will be equitable and effective," McBane said at a news confernece.
 
Spending on pharmaceuticals has risen sharply in recent years – an average of 10.5 per cent a year since 1985, Gagnon, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at Carleton University in Ottawa told The Globe and Mail.
 
He contends that costs have increased twice as quickly in private drug plans as in public plans, in large part because they do not have bulk purchasing power. Administrative costs are also higher in private plans compared to public plans.
 
Gagnon's report argues that consumers would be better served by a national drug pricing and purchasing system and drug policies aimed at improving access and affordability.
 
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100913/pharmacare-program-100913/20100913/?hub=CalgaryHome
 
 
3._________________________________________
 
Toronto Star (September 14, 2010)
Ontario leads the way on drug cost reform
By Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau
 
ST. JOHN’S—Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews is taking on the pharmaceutical giants again, but this time she is counting on her colleagues across the country for support.
 
Provincial and territorial health ministers, gathered in St. John's for their annual meeting, agreed Monday to develop a plan to help reduce the rising costs of health care by pooling their resources when buying prescription drugs and medical equipment and supplies.
 
The agreement paves the way for Ontario and British Columbia to come up with a plan for a pan-Canadian purchasing alliance that would allow provincial and territorial governments — who together spend more than $10 billion annually on prescription drugs — to collectively negotiate for lower prices from suppliers. This is a follow-up to last month's talks at the Council of Federation meeting in Winnipeg.
 
Currently, each government signs a contract with pharmaceutical companies that forbids them to disclose what they pay for their brand-name products. This leads to disparities in costs across the country — evident in the wide-ranging prices for generic drugs from province to province.
 
The cost of drugs is rising, a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows. The report notes that the cost of prescription drugs has risen by more than 10 per cent a year for the past quarter-century and that Canadians pay 30 per cent more than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average.
 
The Ontario government is leading the way on the drug purchasing aspect of the agreement.
 
That's because not only is it one of the largest buyers in the world — allocating $4.3 billion for its publicly funded drug programs this fiscal year — but also because it has experience with getting lower prices through drug cost reform.
 
That includes a hard-fought battle earlier this year to ban pharmacies from receiving a total of $750 million a year in “professional allowances” — payouts from generic drug companies in exchange for carrying their products — which Ontario says were inflating the prices of drugs in the province.
 
The political fight saw drugstores cutting store hours — beginning with the Shoppers Drug Mart in Matthews' hometown of London, Ont. — and letting customers know through posters and brochures that the Liberal government was to blame for the inconvenience.
 
Matthews had some advice for any of her counterparts who may be worried about feeling the heat if and when it comes time to join the common purchasing alliance.
 
“We all have to think about who is it that we are here to represent and we're here to represent people: people who need drugs and the taxpayers,” she told the Star in St. John's Monday.
 
“It's pretty clear that if we can get lower prices for drugs, that means we can spend more money doing other things that benefit the health of people in our provinces and territories. So we just have to remember why we're here.”
 
The potential alliance would be voluntary but an Ontario government source with first-hand knowledge of the discussions said there was much interest from the other ministers around the table, especially when those whose governments pay higher prices for drugs learned how much lower they were in other jurisdictions.
 
After the news conference announcing the communiqué, Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald said it was important to recognize the “uniqueness of jurisdictions.”
 
“(Ontario has) a slightly different composure that they take to the dance than a smaller province like Manitoba,” said Oswald. “We want to learn from Ontario and B.C. and others, but we have to be aware of what our parameters are in our jurisdiction and do what is right for us right now too.”
 
Ontario health ministry officials said it was too early to know how much money could be saved.
 
But Kevin Falcon, the B.C. health minister, noted that the purchasing alliance his province has with Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in Manitoba is expected to save his province $250 million a year by 2014.
 
The federal government is interested in signing on too, as it spent about $600 million last year to cover drugs as well as medical supplies and equipment for First Nations, Inuit and other populations it provides health care to.
 
“This government continues to welcome opportunities for meaningful collaboration on pharmaceutical issues to realize efficiencies in the health care system, so that public resources can be used most effectively,” said Tim Vail, a spokesman for federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who will meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts Tuesday.
 
Russell Williams, president of Ottawa-based pharmaceutical industry association Rx&D, said each province uses drugs in different ways and centralizing everything in a way that focuses on driving down the bottom line could hinder quality and access.
 
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/860324--ontario-leads-the-way-on-drug-cost-reform?bn=1
 
 
4._________________________________________
 
Toronto Star (September 14, 2010)
Saving money on drugs
Editorial
 
The need for a national pharmacare plan, offering universal access to prescription drugs, has long been argued on medical and humanitarian grounds. Since drugs play an increasingly important role in the prevention and treatment of illness, it is inequitable for any Canadian to go without coverage.
 
Now, however, pharmacare advocates are making a new argument: it would save money. According to a report released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, $10.7 billion could be shaved off our annual $25 billion national drug bill by replacing the “jumble” of costly private and provincial drug plans with one efficient public plan. Among other things, the buying power of the national plan would force drug makers to reduce prices. Money would also be saved through a rigorous national process for approving new drugs and the reduction in administration costs from collapsing various public and private drug plans into one.
 
But pharmacare would also transfer costs currently paid by the private sector, through employee drug plans, to government. That shift is unlikely to gain favour during a time of high federal and provincial deficits.
 
In fact, despite repeated calls for a national pharmacare program over the last 40 years, Ottawa has shown little interest in pursuing the idea.
 
Fortunately, however, some of the savings in the report can be achieved without Ottawa’s leadership or adding to deficits.
 
Last month, the premiers announced plans to set up a national agency that would be responsible for approving and purchasing drugs. On Monday, provincial health ministers worked on the plans at their meeting in St. John’s, Nfld. They are on the right track.
 
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/860458--saving-money-on-drugs
 
 
5._________________________________________
 
NDP (September 13, 2010)
Media Release
National drug strategy could save billions
 
REGINA – New Democrat Health Critic Megan Leslie (Halifax) is challenging Canada’s health ministers to use today’s meeting in St. John’s to start making medications more affordable for Canadians. Leslie’s call coincides with research released today showing Canadians could save up to $10.7-billion per year with a national prescription drug strategy.
 
“The legacy of Tommy Douglas is fresh in my mind today,” said Leslie, who is in Regina for the New Democrats’ caucus strategy session. “I want to remind the health ministers that free access to hospitals and doctors was only phase one of Tommy’s vision. Phase two is about tackling the things that can keep us healthy—including affordable medications.”
 
Canada and the US are now the world’s only developed countries without national drug strategies. Research released today from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and l’Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques finds Canada could save 10 to 42 per cent of total drug expenditures by implementing a national strategy.
 
“Some Canadians are enduring real financial hardship because of soaring drug costs. To me, this means our health care system is not truly universal. We need leadership to level the playing field and create much-needed savings in our health care system,” said Leslie.
 
Canada is the world’s third-most expensive country for brand name drugs, and pharmaceuticals are the country’s fastest-rising health care cost. A single national buyer could negotiate cheaper prices by purchasing drugs in bulk. This would save patients money and relieve businesses of expensive private insurance fees and administrative costs.
 
“In 2004, Canada’s first ministers pledged to secure fair and reasonable access to safe and affordable prescription drugs for all Canadians. It’s time our Health Minister and her provincial and territorial counterparts worked together to fulfill that commitment.”
 
http://www.ndp.ca/press/national-drug-strategy-could-save-billions
 
 
6._________________________________________________
 
Canada Newswire (September 13, 2010)
RNAO says economic analysis shows Canada can't afford not to have pharmacare
 
Registered nurses from across Ontario are throwing their support behind detailed economic analysis in a report that concludes a national pharmacare program would improve equitable access to essential medicines, improve health outcomes and save Canadians up to $10.7 billion. 
 
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is endorsing the report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. RNAO says the report; The Economic Case for Universal Pharmacare makes a solid case for implementing a public drug plan because the status quo isn't serving Canadians and current costs are spiraling out of control.
 
For example, in 2008, the report says Canada spent over $25 billion on prescription drugs. Costs of drugs have been rising at more than 10 per cent a year since 1985 and now comprise a major portion of overall health expenditures. The report's author compares Canada with other OECD countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France and Sweden that have a lower rate of growth in prescription drug costs and also have some form of public drug coverage.   The report offers a prescription that would substantially lower drug costs if Ottawa, the provinces and territories joined forces to create a universal plan.
 
"We know the current drug system isn't serving Canadians well," says David McNeil, president of RNAO. "The free market approach has resulted in runaway drug costs that threaten the sustainability of Medicare." Some people say Canada can't afford the cost of pharmacare. But McNeil says the report shows convincingly that only a national pharmacare program will, in fact, control the growth in drug costs.
 
Doris Grinspun, RNAO's executive director, credits the Ontario government for steps it's taking to rein in the costs of generic drugs. The changes announced in the spring will reduce expenditures for generic drugs in the province but national coordination is essential. "We need a universal, public plan that ensures everyone has equitable access to the medicines they need, when they need them and regardless if the person is in the hospital or at home," Grinspun says, adding that "today's report shows that this will also result in significant savings. It's a win-win."
 
RNAO has advocated strongly for pharmacare and makes the case for a national program in its own report it released in January 2010. "The federal government must take the lead on this issue," argues Grinspun. "To do otherwise is simply irresponsible when you consider how much Canadians are paying for drugs." 
 
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.  
 
For more information about RNAO, visit our website at www.rnao.org. You can also check out our Facebook page at www.rnao.org/facebook and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rnao.
 
For further information:
 
To arrange an interview with Mr. McNeil, Dr. Grinspun or with another nurse, please contact:
 
Marion Zych
Director of Communications
Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO)
158 Pearl Street
Toronto, ON
416-408-5605 (office)
647-406-5605 (cellular)
 
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2010/13/c9223.html
 
 
7.____________________________________________
 
Toronto Sun (September 13, 2010)
National drug plan would save billions: expert
By Laura Payton, Parliamentary Bureau
 
OTTAWA – Canada could save billions every year if the government started a national prescription drug plan, a Carleton University researcher said Monday.
 
A national pharmacare plan that negotiates prices and eliminates multiple private plans could save Canadians $10.7 billion, Marc-Andre Gagnon said in a study with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
 
A plan that eliminates private plans and revises pricing guidelines — without negotiating bulk prices — would save about $4.48 billion, the report says.
 
“The report shows that the actual system is totally dysfunctional,” he said, adding it's also inequitable because of the diversity of public and private plans.
 
“People are covered according to the province where they live or where they work, but not necessarily according to their medical needs.”
 
Gagnon said private drug plans are particularly inefficient.
 
Prescription drug costs have increased about 7% a year since 2001, the report says.
 
Gagnon says part of the problem is drug company promotions that influence doctors to prescribe newer, more-expensive drugs. He says improving “therapeutic choices” — educating doctors about cheaper alternatives — could save Canadians $2.51 billion a year.
 
But the head of Rx&D, the association representing Canada's pharmaceutical companies, says national pharmacare programs tend to limit choice.
 
“Not every medication works on every patient, so the health-care profession, the patient, needs choice,” said Russell Williams.
 
Williams also pointed to potential problems getting the provinces and territories, who each have different lists of drugs they'll cover, to agree to a common list.
 
The premiers agreed last month to consolidate drug, medical supply and equipment purchases to try to save money. The discussion is still in the early stages, with Ontario leading the drug process and B.C. handling equipment and supplies, said Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews.
 
“We'll come back to the ministers to see what steps we can take, but there's definite interest,” Matthews said.
 
The federal government welcomes the move to use public resources more efficiently, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said.
 
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/09/13/15332646.html
 
 
8.____________________________________________
 
Charlottetown Guardian (September 14, 2010)
Advocate says Island would benefit most from public pharmacare
By Jim Day
 
Islanders could benefit most if the federal government adopts a call for a universal public pharmacare program, says a local health-care advocate.
 
Mary Boyd, chair of the P.E.I. Health Coalition, is throwing her voice behind the Canadian Health Coalition (CHC) appeal for action following the release of a report laying out a formula for pharmacare that would not only offer coverage to all Canadians but could save up to $10.7 billion annually in the process.
 
Boyd believes P.E.I. has the lowest rate of drug insurance in the whole country. Also, drug plans in the Maritimes in general are the most underfunded and have the fewest number of drugs on the registry, she adds.
 
"We really have to improve access to medication ... without this plan, there is too much inequity," said Boyd. "This is a very, very important issue for P.E.I."
 
Boyd says the report has shown there is a great deal of waste in the system.
 
The report, entitled The Economic Case for Universal Pharmacare, has been authored by Professor Marc-Andre Gagnon and commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Institut de recherche et d'informations socio-économiques (IRIS).
 
A letter has also been sent by the CHC to Canada's provincial Health ministers, currently attending a meeting on health care, urging them to study the report and work to bring the federal government back to the table to implement a national plan.
 
The CHC is calling on the prime minister to direct his minister of Health to return to the table with provincial and territorial counterparts and fulfil the written commitment of Canada's first ministers to secure fair and reasonable access to safe and affordable prescription drugs for all Canadians.
 
In the past, the federal Health minister has refused to acknowledge the existence of the National Pharmaceutical Strategy agreed to in a 2004 First Ministers Accord.
 
The CHC says the prime minister should go back and "read this important report" and show real leadership by acknowledging the essential role of the federal government in establishing "a fair and effective drug insurance plan for all Canadians."
 
The new CCPA-IRIS report has been endorsed by a number of doctors, economists and researchers, notes the CHC.
 
"The way we pay for prescription drugs is broken," says Dr. Joel Lexchin, a professor at the school of health policy and management at York University.
 
"Politicians hide behind the excuse that universal public coverage is too expensive. This study exposes that excuse as a fallacy. We can save money and cover everyone in the country. Medicare works and pharmacare is no different."
 
Dr. Robert Evans, a Harvard economist whose work includes comparative studies of various health-care systems and funding strategies, says Canada has an American-style system of paying for drugs.
 
"It yields American results - inequity, waste and high costs," he says.
 
The report says a national pharmacare plan would enable all Canadians to enjoy equitable access to medicine while controlling the growth of drug costs.
 
CMC chairperson Kathleen Connors argues Canadians have waited too long for action by government leaders at all levels.
 
"It is no longer credible for politicians to say we cannot afford universal public pharmacare," she says.
 
"The reality is Canadians cannot afford not to have pharmacare."
 
The CHC sets out two scenarios for reaching the goal of sustainable drug prices with universal public pharmacare. These calculations already take into account an increased cost of 10 per cent for universal pharmacare, covering all Canadians. The coalition's report also proposes additional policy measures to offset the additional cost.
 
Many countries, including France, the U.K., Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, have universal drug plans and pay far less than Canada.
 
 
9.____________________________________________
 
Globe And Mail (September 14, 2010)
Letter to the Editor
Medicare's architecture
By Sid Frankel
 
Marc-André Gagnon (Universal Pharmacare Touted As Way To Save Billions - Sept. 13) has provided a rarity: a policy proposal that will save money, improve access and act as an important element of a poverty-prevention and eradication strategy for the working poor.
 
Isn't it about time that we completed the architecture of medicare?
 
...
 
Sid Frankel is and associate professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba