The recent announcement about a National Pharmacare Program is promising news for Canadians that have trouble affording the medications they need.
While there are still many outstanding questions about logistics and implementation of a National Pharmacare Program, more information will come with specific details and timelines. The CanCertainty Coalition will continue to ensure the needs of people living with cancer are heard and met.
Take-home cancer treatments were highlighted in the National Council’s report, acknowledging that the inequities in how these drugs are accessed from province to province need to be fixed. This is promising, but it must also be underscored that cancer patients cannot wait until 2022 (or beyond) to fix these disparities.
We look forward to continuing to work with government and system leaders to significantly improve the affordability and accessibility of cancer treatment in a fair and timely way. Because cancer cannot wait.