Manitoba NDP promises to restore funding for some drugs, freeze pharmacare deductibles

Manitoba’s NDP leader says he would bring back a special drugs program if he were to become premier after next week’s provincial election.

Wab Kinew says restoring the funding cancelled by Brian Pallister’s Tory government would cover medication costs for about 1,100 Manitobans with life-threatening illnesses.

The special drugs program was created in 1968 to help patients whose medical conditions require high-priced medications.

Kinew also says he would freeze the rate of pharmacare deductibles which have gone up by five per cent since 2016.

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The NDP would also increase the use of cheaper generics and bio-similar drugs, which are manufactured chemically using a micro-organism, plant or animal cells.

The provincial election is next Tuesday.

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