Posted by Michael Wonder on 10 Apr 2018
Wasteful, wrong-headed
10 April 2018 - Universal plan most efficient way to provide quality and effective medicines.
In the Guardian’s guest opinion, March 15, a Fraser Institute representative criticized a proposal for a universal drug plan for all Canadians as wasteful and wrong-headed. The author stated that a universal medical drug plan (pharmacare), is not the way to go, and suggested that the authors of a recent study somewhat bizarrely recommended such a plan.
Apparently, this author isn’t aware that Canada has a number of very highly-qualified experts in the field who have published many papers on a universal plan. They find it to be the most efficient way to provide quality and effective medicines. They show that a universal plan would save at least $11 billion per year of the approximately $29 billion we spend yearly for medical drugs. They remind us that Canada is the only country with a universal health care system that doesn`t have a universal medical drug program.
