October 19, 2018 — The Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada today released the results of a national survey about pharmacare. Pollara Strategic Insights conducted the online survey of 4,173 adult Canadians on behalf of the Association from July 27 to August 3, 2018.
The study found that public engagement on this subject is low, as pharmacare is not a top-of-mind policy or health care priority for Canadians. Thus, the public do not have a clear notion of the specifics of how pharmacare would be executed or the coverage it would provide.
When asked, most (84%) Canadians express conceptual support for a national universal prescription drug program, generally speaking. However, pharmacare is ranked a lower, less urgent, and less deserving priority than most other health care and non-health care issues tested in the survey.
When considering specific approaches to pharmacare, a majority (55%) prefer a program that maintains existing drug plans and either exclusively focusses on providing coverage to those without a plan (20%) or covers those without a plan and allows those with a plan to bill their insurer first and the government second (35%).
Only 30% prefer a program that covers all Canadians and replaces existing government and private plans, and just 15% prefer a program that only focusses on Canadians who face extreme or catastrophic circumstances that require expensive drugs.
For more details, including regional results, please see our report: Pharmacare in Canada: An Overview of Key Findings
Also, see today’s Toronto Star article: Pharmacare is not a top health-care priority for Canadians
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