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The main purpose of this page is to examine the basic structure of the Canadian Pharmacare system and the existing flaws of the current Pharmacare service process. This page offers a general overview of how prescription drugs are funded, and how Canada offers multiple pharmacare plans that vary across the provinces, especially focusing on the Fair Pharma Plan of British Columbia.
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In order to allow Canadians to have better access to medication, the Canadian government is working on improving the issue of medication coverage through the intervention and regulation of the Advisory Committee on Pharmaceutical Care and the national PharmaCare system. Despite the multiple measures the government has taken, there are still existing issues regarding Pharmacare in the Canadian Health Care system, such as insufficient drug supply and limited access to medication with general public insurance. However, prescription drugs in Canada have become more affordable with the introduction of federal regulations that significantly reduce these costs.
The Canadian health insurance system provides public funding for doctor visits and hospitalization costs during the entire medicare process. However, prescription drugs have often been poorly covered by public and private insurance, creating barriers for many Canadians as they are unable to access necessary medications. This has prevented Canadians from living healthy lifestyles and has stunted their overall productiveness. In more serious cases, lack of adequate drug care programs may result in the failure to guarantee basic physical health necessities and the longevity of citizens.
The Canadian government is aware of the lack of drug coverage in the overall health care system. Thus, to ensure the affordability of prescription drugs for all Canadians, the Standing Committee on Health proposed to expand the Canada Health Act to cover prescription drugs distributed outside hospitals as an insured service and to establish a public national pharmacy program.