Health Minister Mark Holland has called on the Senate to pass Bill C-64, a pharmacare proposal facing criticism for being vague and incomplete. Blacklock's Reporter says his plea comes amid growing concerns from industry groups and experts about the bill's lack of clarity.“The pharmacare legislation needs to pass through the Senate,” Holland said. “I think it is important to know we are squarely and continually focused on helping folks and trying to make things better.”Bill C-64, which aims to establish a national pharmacare program in partnership with the provinces, is currently under review by the Senate’s social affairs committee. However, there is no statutory deadline for the bill's implementation, and industry representatives have expressed concern about the bill's ambiguities.“We continue to seek greater clarity with respect to the proposed pharmacare system,” the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management wrote in a submission to the Senate committee. The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association echoed the sentiment, stating that many details of the system remain undetermined until after the bill’s passage.Holland introduced the bill in February, stressing that negotiations with provinces will take time. “Obviously not all the provinces are going to come on line at once. That is very hard to forecast,” he said.The Commons passed Bill C-64 in June, but the legislation has since faced criticism from healthcare experts. The Canadian Medical Association Journal described the proposal as inadequate, calling it a “fill-the-gaps” system that would perpetuate Canada's fragmented approach to pharmaceutical purchasing, leading to higher drug prices.The journal further criticized the bill for its lack of provisions to establish the Canadian Drug Agency by law, which it argued would leave the Agency “vulnerable to interference, potentially toothless and easily dismissible.”New Democrats, whose 2022 Supply and Confidence Agreement with the Liberals included a pharmacare bill as a condition, have also voiced frustration with the government’s handling of the legislation. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh dissolved the agreement on September 4, accusing the government of being “too weak, too selfish” to deliver on its promises.
