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Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
sent by e-mail: @email
Dear Premier Ford,
Since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, Canada and the rest of the world have been responding to what will surely be remembered as the biggest health, social and economic crisis of our time.
Provincial governments, along with the federal government, have indeed stepped up to implement significant emergency support measures to deal with the pandemic. As this crisis continues, however, we urge you to address one of the most glaring and pressing issues facing Ontarians: the lack of access to prescription medication.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 8 million Canadians did not have prescription drug coverage and an estimated 3 million Canadians did not take medicines prescribed by their doctors because they couldn’t afford them. In a matter of weeks, millions of Canadians have been laid off with few of them having any health care benefits to carry them through this crisis.
Ontario currently has a number of targeted public programs for drug coverage. Namely, the Trillium Drug Program – intended for residents with no private coverage, but has a high deductible; Ontario Drug Benefit for seniors; and OHIP+ for children and youth who are not covered by a private plan.
Given the devastating impact of COVID-19 on Ontario jobs and incomes, many people are falling through the cracks and may not be able to afford the medications that they need. The move to providing 30-day prescription drug supplies (instead of 90-days) has also been a challenge for many people, especially seniors. The Health Minister indicated that her ministry was looking at alternatives to additional dispensing fees for those impacted.
However, we must assist those who lost workplace coverage and others who may not be able to afford the dispensing fees, premiums, deductibles or co-payments in the existing provincial drug programs. The lack of access to prescription drugs during this crisis should be treated as an additional health emergency.
Unifor is calling on the provincial government to take the following emergency measures to ensure that Ontarians have access to prescription drugs immediately:
- Work in coordination with the federal government and provide the resources needed in order to set up existing provincial drug programs to cover all laid-off workers.
- Waive all dispensing fees, premiums, deductibles or co-payments for people covered by the provincial drug programs.
- Ensure that if any worker must go on leave for COVID-19 related quarantine or self- isolation, they maintain drug coverage through their employer or is eligible for coverage under provincial drug programs.
Naureen Rizvi
Ontario Regional Director
