Article content

>]Repeatedly over the past 50 years, national commissions and inquiries have recommended that Canadian medicare include universal, public coverage of prescription drugs. So far, no government has acted on this, creating profound inequities and inefficiencies in our health-care system. But more than that: the lack of universal pharmacare is bad for Canadian businesses, large and small.

In this election year, it is time for Canada’s business leaders to call for universal, public pharmacare. Here’s why.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Morgan & Martin: Pharmacare: It's good for business Back to video

Businesses care about the health and well-being of the Canadian workforce. Employees that can afford the medicines as and when prescribed will be healthier, happier and more productive.

But VPs of human resources will tell you that, with growing use and cost of prescription drugs, managing drug benefits has become much more complex and difficult to sustain. Regrettably, private drug coverage decisions are made as part of contract negotiations that put employers and unions in the impossible position of deciding who gets access to what treatments. And as the costs of private plans grow, businesses of all sizes are forced to make difficult trade-offs.