Andrea Horwath made Sault Ste. Marie her first stop in a tour announcing the New Democratic Party’s plans to unveil a universal prescription drug plan to all Ontarians should they create government as a result of the 2018 provincial election.
Horwath and local by-election candidate Joe Krmpotich made the joint Pharmacare announcement this morning, immediately after a closed-door meeting with Group Health Centre brass and a tour of the centre’s Algoma Diabetes Education and Care (ADEC) clinic.
The proposed plan, which is estimated to cost $475 million a year, would cover 125 commonly-prescribed drugs for common conditions, like diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure — among others.
“These are the kinds of medications that are most utilized by the majority of the people that get prescriptions filled,” said Horwath.
It is too early to tell if marijuana would be one of the drugs covered, said Horwath.
A committee would evaluate which prescription drugs should be covered, and the amount of drugs offered may expand as the program grows, said Horwath.
The cost of the plan would be covered in the immediate future by the projected growth in the economy.
The proposed $475 million cost of the plan represents just one-third of one per cent of the province’s annual budget, said Horwath.
“I really do believe we can’t afford not to do it, because the costs financially of people not being able to access their medications just puts more burdens on hospitals — and hospitals are the most expensive part of our health care system,” said Horwath.
Should the province experience an economic downturn or the expected growth doesn’t occur, Horwath expects the funds could be found elsewhere in the budget.
“We wouldn’t be pulling from other health care programs, but certainly we would be looking at the broader budget,” she said.
Denise Moss, team leader of Algoma Diabetes Education and Care, said the plan would be beneficial, if it is implemented.
The costs associated with diabetes can be overwhelming for some people, said Moss.
“Often we make decisions based on whether or not they have drug coverage, whether they can afford the costs of medication. The strips, the insulin, all of those things are extra costs,” said Moss.
Recently-released research by the Canadian Medical Association Journal showed people living in northern Ontario are twice as likely to experience a stroke or heart attack than someone living in the Greater Toronto Area.
Horwath said that statistic is not acceptable.
“In some ways it is an indicator to the lack of equal access to health care and health services. Quite frankly, that’s why this Pharmacare plan would be one that would be helpful for people in Sault Ste. Marie and across the north,” she said.
Some Ontarians, Horwath said, hold off on purchasing prescription drugs due to the costs or try to stretch out medications by taking lower doses — which can often times have dangerous side effects or even lead to death.
“You don’t have to put that prescription in a drawer until two months from now when you have saved enough to fill it — that’s not acceptable,” said Horwath.
The policy announcement is intended to be raised as part of the 2018 provincial election and would likely require a change in government to have a chance to be implemented, and will not be immediately affected by the impending Sault Ste. Marie byelection.
The byelection will be helpful, said Horwath, as a sort of proving grounds for the policies that will be brought to the general election next year.
“I do a lot of touring across the province, touching base with Ontarians from one end of the province to the other. I don’t go there simply for the good of my health, I go there to listen to people and to understand what kinds of things people are facing,” she said.
Horwath first made the policy announcement during Saturday’s NDP convention in Toronto, but today marked the first in a series of localized announcements to be made by the NDP leader.
