The council, chaired by former Ontario Liberal health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins, has recommended the federal government implement a universal, single-payer, public pharmacare system for prescription drugs. Canadian families would save an average of $350 a year on out-of-pocket expenses, while businesses would save an average of $750 per employee on prescription drug insurance. Hoskins and his colleagues were voluble about the advantages of a universal system but were considerably more subdued about how to pay for it. Part of that increase is inherent in a national pharmacare plan — if you remove financial barriers to access, you increase drug accessibility and, therefore, spending. The report forecasts that pharmacare would cost the federal government $38.5 billion a year when fully implemented.

Source: National Post June 12, 2019 21:10 UTC