Some Albertans will fall between the cracks if pharmacare deal not signed: expert [Video]

A health policy expert is warning some Albertans will fall through the cracks if the province doesn’t reach a pharmacare deal with the federal government.

Canada’s pharmacare bill has officially become a reality after it passed through the Senate Thursday and received royal assent.

The legislation allows the federal government to sign deals with provinces and territories to cover diabetes and birth-control medications as part of the public health system.

Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law and Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said this legislation is long overdue.

“This was supposed to have been done as part of medicare for many years and there are many other countries that already do this. So Canada really lags behind in health equity because of all of the other countries that are already doing this,” Hardcastle said.

The Alberta government has previously said it plans to opt out of any national pharmacare plan.

…