Canada’s Liberal government will propose a limited expansion to the country’s universal healthcare system in the spring budget to cover part of the cost of prescription drugs, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The government would not commit to meeting 100 per cent of the cost of prescription drugs for those who have no insurance through their workplace, the sources said. Opinion polls consistently show strong popularity for Canada’s public healthcare system. There have been calls for Canada to extend medicare to include prescription drugs since medicare came into existence in the late 1960s, and multiple studies have recommended its inclusion. Without a universal system overhaul, advocates argue, people will continue to slip through costly cracks in the coverage system.

Source: National Post February 01, 2019 12:45 UTC