Description: According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), a national pharmacare program with one single public sector payer would cost taxpayers an additional $11 billion in its first year. Currently, prescription drugs are paid through a variety of government, employer, and citizen contributions, with the total governments’ share at 46% and private insurance companies picking up another 40%. Incremental costs of a publicly-funded program are projected to rise to $13.4 billion by year four, though the program would reduce drug prices by creating one large organization with more influence on drug prices.
Date: October 12, 2023
Source: ctvnews.ca
Discussion points:
1) Do you have some form of prescription drug coverage while you are at university?
2) Are you and your classmates in favour of a national, single-payer prescription drug program?
3) Page 5-1 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making opens with vignette discussing Loblaws and its subsidiary, Shoppers Drug Mart, both of which retail prescription drugs to Canadians. If you were a financial officer at one of these companies, and you were asked to prepare a paper for senior management outlining the company’s position as either for or against the single-payer option, what do you think you would recommend?
Rykert Balfe Hayden Rowe Tristen Devine Remi McLaughlin
1) None of us have a private prescription drug coverage while at university outside of the coverage outlined in the MASU insurance plan of which all four of us have opted in to.
2) Yes, we as a whole are in favour of a national single payer drug plan. Anything that can remove the burden of cost from the average citizen and business owner, especially ina. time of rising costs across many sectors, is a good thing in our minds. As a whole, we are in favour of expanded healthcare coverage for Canadians, as we appall the healthcare related debt crisis that many individuals can be seen facing south of our border.
3) As the financial officer within the company, we would recommend the company take a stance for the policy. While the PBO states that the cost of drugs would be reduced due to a better environment for negotiation, the PBO also states that drug usage would increase 13.5%, and an uptick that large for a retailer of this size is rare to see, especially one implemented through policy change. Furthermore, looking at Loblaws in particular who has been at the centre of price gouging accusations and lawsuits, publicly supporting a policy that would provide better healthcare and save Canadians money would buy a great deal of good will with the public.
Rykert Balfe
1) None of us have private prescription drug coverage while at university outside of the coverage outlined in the MASU insurance plan of which all four of us have opted in to.
2) Yes, we as a whole are in favour of a national single payer drug plan. Anything that can remove the burden of cost from the average citizen and business owner, especially in a time of rising costs across many sectors, is a good thing in our minds. We are in favour of expanded healthcare coverage for Canadians, as we appall the healthcare related debt crisis that many individuals can be seen facing south of our border.
3) As the financial officer within the company, we would recommend the company take a stance for the policy. While the PBO states that the cost of drugs would be reduced due to a better environment for negotiation, the PBO also states that drug usage would increase 13.5%, and an uptick that large for a retailer of this size is rare to see, especially one implemented through policy change. Furthermore, looking at Loblaws in particular who has been at the centre of price gouging accusations and lawsuits, publicly supporting a policy that would provide better healthcare and save Canadians money would buy a great deal of good will with the public.
Rykert Balfe
Hayden Rowe
Tristen Devine
Remi McLaughlin
Andrew Little, John Christodoulou, Lauren Hatheway, Shristhi Kedia
1. Some of us in our group have private prescription drug coverage outside of the University, while some of us have opted in to the MASU prescription drug insurance coverage.
2. Yes, we as a group believe that a national, single-payer prescription drug program is genuinely a good approach and a beneficial outcome. As stated in the article, this will lead to economy-wide savings which will be beneficials for all Canadians.
3. Most probably it would be recommended to share the expenses in an equal proportion as no one party should be overwhelmed by the expenditure.