Monday, June 08, 2015
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Ontario Hosts Roundtable Discussion on Pharmacare
Ontario Hosts Roundtable Discussion on Pharmacare Ontario has assembled academics and experts from across Canada in Toronto to provide their knowledge and insight to a discussion about pharmacare.
The roundtable, led by Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, continues the conversation on pharmacare from last fall's Health Ministers meeting. Several ministers will join Minister Hoskins in hearing from experts about the costs, benefits and challenges of universal access to drugs and the experiences of various jurisdictions. In addition, they will discuss the impact a pan-Canadian program may have on patients and governments.
Improving access to care is part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, which is providing patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information they need to stay healthy and a health care system that's sustainable for generations to come.
Quick Facts:
- Canada is the only industrialized country with universal health insurance that does not offer universal prescription drug coverage.
- As an example of how provincial and territorial cooperation can reduce the costs of medications, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance has resulted in price reductions on 14 generic drugs and over $189 million in combined savings annually. This is in addition to the $125 million in savings to jurisdictions from price negotiations on brand-name drugs.
Background Information:
Additional Resources:
Quotes:
"Today’s roundtable is the continuation of the discussion initiated with my fellow Health Ministers in Banff in October. I committed at that time that I would keep this conversation on pharmacare going, and that’s what we’re doing. Today is about learning from the experiences of other jurisdictions, as well as learning more about the potential impacts on patients. I strongly believe that health care does not end when a patient leaves the doctor’s office. We owe it to Ontarians, and all Canadians, to move this conversation forward in a thoughtful way."
— Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
Media Contacts:
David Jensen
Communications and Marketing Division
416-314-6197
media.moh@ontario.ca
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media.moh@ontario.ca
Shae Greenfield
Minister’s Office
416-325-5230
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