![Click to play video: '‘I really do believe that [the choice is] between myself and Mr. Ford’: Horwath'](https://i0.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/537/671/WB_HORWATH_APR_22-Medium_848x480_1216048195713.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)
TORONTO – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is promising universal access to take-home cancer drugs if her party wins the spring election.
Horwath says an NDP government would spend $42 million each year to cover patients whose health insurance plans don’t currently cover those types of drugs.
READ MORE: NDP leader Andrea Horwath launches campaign
In Ontario, cancer drugs administered in hospitals are free but take-home drugs often have a cost.
Get breaking National news
LISTEN: NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on the party’s cancer drug plan
- Reported Germany-Canada LNG deal would bolster investment case for Ksi Lisims: David Eby
- Alberta separation question creating uncertainty for provincial investment: ‘Not good for us’
- B.C. premier ‘anxious’ about upcoming Alberta independence vote
- Premiers of Alberta, Manitoba spar over need to consult with First Nations
Horwath says the majority of new cancer treatments being released are of the take-home variety, which means the fees for those medications can be substantial, putting necessary drugs out of reach for some people.
She says the NDP would cut down on the stress cancer patients are already experiencing.
The promise is on top of the NDP’s pledge to spend $1.2 billion to increase base hospital funding.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.