OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government is promising a new agency to negotiate prescription drug prices for Canadians and try to drive down costs — a move billed as an “important step” on the path to an eventual national pharmacare plan. The Liberal government said it intends to work with provinces, territories and other partners to develop the mandate for the national drug agency, with Health Canada to receive $35 million over four years starting in 2019-2020 to create an office to support the plan. A universal pharmacare plan does not appear affordable for Canada right now, said Rebekah Young, the director of fiscal and provincial economics for Scotiabank. “We will have the courage to make different choices.”Canadians spent $33.7 billion on medication in 2018, a staggering increase over 1985, when they spent just $2.6 billion on prescription drugs. Hoskins said in an interview Tuesday he was very pleased to see the government adopt the main recommendations from the initial report, adding there is a clear commitment to national pharmacare.

Source: National Post March 19, 2019 20:03 UTC