NDP will work with federal government on pharmacare, expand provincial coverage of birth control

Halifax – Today, NSNDP Leader Gary Burrill and Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spoke with Gina Grattan about the need for a national universal pharmacare program.

“People across the country should be able to get the medication they need with their health card, not their credit card,” said Burrill. “It’s reported that up to 26 per cent of people in Nova Scotia don’t take their medications as prescribed because they can’t afford it.”

Canada’s NDP introduced a bill that would establish a national framework for pharmacare and the Liberals voted against it.

“Families are having to make the difficult decision between paying for their medication or paying for their food," said Singh. “The Liberals have been promising action on pharmacare for over 20 years and when we gave them the opportunity to follow through on their commitment, Justin Trudeau broke his promise. Families can’t afford to wait. It’s time for universal drug coverage now.”

A federal commission found that while 60 per cent of Canadians have a private drug plan, those plans only cover 36 per cent of spending on prescriptions.

A provincial NDP government will introduce free birth control for anyone without private coverage.

"Accessible reproductive health care including birth control is so important, especially for young people,” said Grattan. "The cost of covering birth control can be difficult for people to cover when they’re also dealing with student loans or the high cost of housing. Just like other health care, cost shouldn’t be the reason people can’t access birth control."

The NSNDP would also expand provincial coverage to include HIV PrEP medication, and the shingles vaccine Shingrex, and immediately invest $1 million into the Nova Scotia insulin pump program. The NSNDP prescription coverage commitment will cost $11.3 million annually.

“Iain Rankin and the Liberals cut the previous insulin pump program by 85 per cent leaving many families struggling to pay out of pocket for this medically necessary equipment,” said Burrill. “An NDP government will support a national pharmacare program and make sure every person in our province and across Canada gets the medication they need.”

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