Health Minister Mark Holland teased he could begin announcing “concrete deals” under the federal pharmacare plans “very shortly.”
Holland told reporters in Ottawa Monday his Bill C-64 is expected to clear the Senate and get royal assent on Oct. 10.
“We’re ready to get to work and see these drugs flow,” he said, pointing out the feds confirmed a memorandum of understanding with B.C. last month. That deal suggests Ottawa will help cover the cost of hormone therapy in addition to support for oral contraceptives through a provincial system.
The minister’s comments could have political implications.
The NDP has vowed to monitor the rollout of pharmacare as a factor when deciding whether to support the Liberals on confidence matters. The party wants to see the program expanded to drugs beyond diabetes medications and contraceptives, and Holland said the B.C. deal is proof that Ottawa believes that coverage is the “floor, not a ceiling.”
“We can have more ambition in these provincial deals than what we did in Ottawa,” Holland added, though he cautioned that will be subject to negotiations with individual premiers.
