The Pharmacare Act was passed into law Thursday evening, a step towards providing free universal access to diabetes medication and contraceptives.
The bill was introduced to parliament in February as it’s less commonly known name Bill C-64. The bill was passed by the Senate without amendments Thursday evening and received royal assent soon after.
The legislation allows provinces and territories to cut deals with the federal government to begin providing certain diabetes and birth control medications to patients for free.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on provinces and territories Friday morning, after attending a summit in Vientiane, Laos, to start negotiating pharmacare deals as soon as possible.
Trudeau said the program will help people who are struggling to pay for prescriptions and that Canadians “don’t have to choose between putting food on the table or getting life-saving medications that they require.”
He also said his government, “not only believes in a woman’s right to choose, but we act on it.”
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The Minister of Health now has 30 days to establish a committee of experts to make recommendations on the operation and financing of national, universal, single-payer pharmacare in Canada.
The federal health minister said he hopes to have all provinces and territories on board by next spring.
The legislation will also inform the creation of any future universal pharmacare plan.
According to Statistics Canada in 2021 one in five adults in the country were without insurance needed to cover medication costs.
The new act was a key part to the now-defunct political pact between the Liberal party and the NDP.
With files from The Canadian Press.
