Report urges greater equality in Canada’s healthcare system

TORONTO –  Canada’s universal healthcare system isn’t so universal, according to a new report released by the Cancer Advocacy Coalition Canada.

The report suggests that Canadians do not have fair and equal access to certain precision and preventative medicines in provinces across the country.

The annual Report Card on Cancer in Canada by the CACC looks at how precision medicine or “targeted therapies” are revolutionizing cancer treatment in the country, developing more efficient cancer treatments but are not equally funded by provincial health agencies.

A drug like Herceptin, used in the treatment of breast cancer tumours, requires biomarker testing to determine if the patient will be receptive to the treatment.

“In the Canada Health Act one of the principles in health care in Canada is universality, but unfortunately healthcare is a provincial jurisdiction,” said Jaime McDonald, lead author on a section of the report that looks at discrepancies in funding for smoking cessation products.

“Each province is responsible  for creating their own drug formularies, a list of medications the government will pay for members of their drug benefit plan.”

McDonald said the report was intended to highlight the provinces which are doing well in the area of paying for anti-smoking aids, such as the nicotine patch, gum and inhalers, and identifying provinces that are lagging behind in helping smokers quit.

“In Quebec they have adopted legislation that requires every person in Quebec to have drug insurance. If you don’t qualify through the province, you must have a private plan. And they have also mandated that private plans must cover what the provincial plan covers. And their provincial plan covers access to funding for (anti-smoking) drugs. So everyone in Quebec has access to these drugs.”

Smokers in Atlantic provinces like New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are at a particular disadvantage, as their provincial governments do not provide public insurance to help smokers quit, and only a small amount of private drug plans cover the cost of anti-smoking drugs, said McDonald.

Margaret Bernhardt-Lowdon, executive director with the Manitoba Lung Association, says without public or private insurance, some Canadians can’t afford to quit smoking.

“All Canadians should have access to these drugs. If you have someone who is ready to quit, they might not if they don’t have the money,” said Bernhardt-Lowdon.

Provinces who pay to help smokers quit are not just making a sound medical decision but a fiscally responsible decision as well said Bernhardt-Lowdon.

“In the long run it’s cheaper to pay for these cessation drugs than to treat people in hospital who are suffering from lung cancer. Direct healthcare costs associated with smoking is close to $4 billion in 2002, and I would imagine it would be even higher now. Prevention is the key, preventing children from starting or anyone from starting,” said Bernhardt-Lowdon.