Election 2019: Hope for a national pharmacare plan

The 2019 federal election in Canada brings hope for universal pharmacare if Canadians ensure the elected government delivers on the long-delayed promise of universal access to essential medications, argues an editorial in


CMAJ

(Canadian Medical Association Journal)

.

“For Canadians seeking substantive policy proposals to guide their choice of the next government, pharmacare has emerged as one of the few issues to which candidates and the media have paid attention,” writes Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, deputy editor, CMAJ.

A recent poll indicates that almost 9 in 10 Canadians support a national pharmacare plan that provides equal access to medications for everyone.

Most federal parties are offering major policy proposals to introduce national pharmacare.

“The tendency for politicians — and voters — to embrace short-term thinking at the expense of long-term gains has been the key roadblock to revolutionary changes in public policy,” writes Dr. Stanbrook. “Canadians must not allow that to happen yet again with pharmacare.”

###