Ontario hopes its new youth pharmacare plan spurs national program
TORONTO — Ontario’s Liberal government hopes a youth drug coverage plan revealed in its budget this week will help spur a national program by showing Ottawa and other provinces that pharmacare is affordable.
The provincial plan to cover more than 4,400 prescription medications for Ontarians under 25, with no co-pay or deductible, at an annual cost of $465 million was the centrepiece of Ontario’s balanced budget released Thursday.
Premier Kathleen Wynne is calling the plan, set to start in January, a step toward truly universal coverage.
“Do I believe that there should be universal pharmacare for all ages in Ontario? Yes,” she said Friday. “That it will happen much more quickly if we have a federal government that is working on a national pharmacare plan.”