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OTTAWA, Sept. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) President, Linda Silas, responded to the Parliamentary Budget Office’s (PBO) costing document on the establishment of a national pharmacare program, commissioned by the Commons Health Committee and released today.
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the PBO report confirms for Canadians that a national pharmacare program will generate substantial savings – in the order of billions per year!” said CFNU President, Linda Silas. “In even better news, the PBO’s costing amounts to a worst-case scenario – with calculations based on the costly Quebec medicines list – meaning there’s potential for even greater savings.”
Canada is the only industrialized country with universal Medicare that does not provide for its people universal coverage for prescription medications. Prescription drug prices have risen rapidly over the past 20 years, surpassing physician fees to become the second most expensive budget item in the delivery of Canadian health care.
In the absence of pharmacare, millions of people in Canada are suffering. Recent polling by Angus Reid found that nearly 25% of Canadian households include someone who is not taking their prescription medicines as prescribed because of cost. Over 8 million working people in Canada do not have employer-funded extended medical benefits.
“On a daily basis, Canada’s nurses bear witness to the deterioration of patients’ health due to a lack of access to affordable medications,” said Silas. “Too often preventable tragedies occur, and this has motivated the CFNU’s nearly two-decade’s campaign to convince Canadian political leaders of the need for a universal plan for prescription drugs.”
Read complete press release here: https://www.ptcommunity.com/wire/canada-s-nurses-applaud-billions-savings-found-pbo-report-pharmacare