Health Minister John Dornan says cost concerns explain the province’s delay in signing a pharmacare agreement with the federal government, and that residents are already “relatively well covered” with the existing coverage in New Brunswick.
The Pharmacare Act, passed as Bill C-64 in October, lays the groundwork for a national universal pharmacare program, with the first phase covering contraceptives and diabetes treatments.
The provincial Liberals pledged to make contraceptives free during their election campaign, but they haven’t yet committed to signing up for the pharmacare program.
“Pharmacare in N.B. would have cost us a lot of money, more than we have. The federal offer was much less than it would have cost us,” said Dornan via email, without specifying how much the feds offered.
“Between insurance, drug cards through social development and a good provincial drug plan with low premiums for lower-income people, New Brunswickers are relatively well covered. We have asked the Federal Minister to reconsider their offer, and we continue to be hopeful.”
Dornan did not comment on the province’s current progress towards implementing free contraceptives.
He said the most recent pharmacare negotiations between the provincial and federal governments were on Monday, although Premier Susan Holt told the Telegraph-Journal that talks haven’t taken place since the federal election in April.
“That conversation kind of died with the federal election, even before the election, so I don’t know if the federal government is actually still in a position to honour and push on the commitments and the funding that they made,” Holt reportedly said.
Speaking to reporters this week, Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel also wouldn’t commit to signing new pharmacare deals with all provinces and territories.
Research shows that patients often ration their medication due to high costs, making difficult choices between rent, groceries and prescription drugs. In New Brunswick, costs for low-income diabetes patients can reach hundreds of dollars per month, as previously reported by the NB Media Co-op.
Steven Staples, the national director of policy and advocacy for the Canadian Health Coalition, said that he “doesn’t take much stock” in Dornan’s comments that residents of the province are “relatively well covered.”
“If New Brunswickers are well covered, then why did the Liberals promise free contraception? We know that one in every four Canadians have trouble paying for their medications and it’s more prevalent for people at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale,” he said.
“I don’t see any magic medicine system in New Brunswick that other provinces don’t have, I imagine the need is just as great there.”
When the pharmacare bill became law last year, the federal government entered into negotiations with each province and territory. So far, Manitoba, B.C., P.E.I. and Yukon have signed pharmacare agreements. Those deals were all signed before the April federal election.
Since then, Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled that he plans to cut program spending while increasing the military budget.
Nearly two-thirds of the $1.5 billion which was allotted toward pharmacare deals by the feds will be spent over four years due to those already-signed agreements, leaving over $500 million in funding available to other provinces and territories.
A recent analysis by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimated that New Brunswick would receive approximately $136 million in federal funding from the pharmacare program.
According to Staples “all eyes are on New Brunswick” as the “most likely” administration to next join the program.
“We are hopeful that it will be the fifth jurisdiction to join the program and provide free contraception and diabetes medications that’s urgently needed for everybody in New Brunswick,” he said.
“It’s going to benefit a lot of people, and I know this is going to be a very popular program with New Brunswickers, if we get it off the ground.”
Negotiating a pharmacare agreement would be a step toward the Holt government fulfilling one of its key campaign promises, offering free contraceptives to New Brunswick residents.
“Nobody’s going to look good” if the deal falls through in New Brunswick, Staples said. “People are going to be upset.”
He said the Canadian Health Coalition is growing concerned that the federal government will not deliver on its promise to continue to negotiate pharmacare agreements due to budget cuts.
“This is exactly the time that we need to be moving forward with these agreements and with these programs, not pulling the rug out from under people,” said Staples.
Jonas May is a recent graduate of St. Thomas University, with a Major in Journalism and Digital Media. He was last year’s news editor of The Aquinian.
Full disclosure: NB Media Co-op coordinating editor Tracy Glynn is the national director of projects and operations of the Canadian Health Coalition.
