After 50 years of calls for pharmacare for all, the Liberal government is taking the first modest steps towards a national prescription drug plan. In the federal budget unveiled Tuesday, the Liberals are pledging $35 million towards the creation of a new national drug agency that would act as a single negotiator for new prescription drug prices. The super drug agency would also be tasked with developing a national formulary — a list of essential drugs that should be available to all Canadians. Prescription drug spending in Canada ballooned from $2.6 billion in 1985 to $33.7 billion in 2018. “For the first time in Canada, drug evaluation and price negotiation could be carried out by a single entity,” the budget document reads.

Source: National Post March 19, 2019 21:11 UTC