The parliamentary budget officer came up with that number Thursday in an analysis of the potential impact of a universal pharmacare program. NDP health critic Don Davies said Canada is the only country that has a universal health care program without an accompanying universal pharmacare system. Under the universal pharmacare program, Ottawa would be on the hook for $20 billion of that, while individual Canadians would pay about $400 million. The PBO looked at the costs of a plan that would be universal for all Canadians, replace provincial and private drug plans, and significantly cut out-of-pocket drug expenses. “We need to make sure Canada’s existing prescription drug system is more efficient and responsive before we can begin to discuss universal drug coverage.”— Follow @mrabson on Twitter

Source: National Post September 28, 2017 19:41 UTC