By Aaron Schulze

Nanaimo MP hosts town hall on universal pharmacare

May 11, 2018 | 4:40 PM

NANAIMO — The NDP wants the federal government to lower healthcare costs by implementing a unviersal pharmacare program, a message they’re bringing to Nanaimo.

Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Sheila Malcolmson, along with the NDP’s health critic Don Davies, will host a town hall meeting about universal pharmacare on Saturday, May 12 at Royal Canadian Legion Branch #256.

According to a letter from Malcolmson submitted to NanaimoNewsNOW, Canada is the only major country with a universal health care system that doesn’t guarantee medication for its citizens.

“Too many Canadians are forced to choose between filling their fridge and filling their prescriptions,” Malcolmson said.

A study from the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2017 showed Canada had the second highest per-person cost of prescription medication of high income countries with universal healthcare.

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The NDP claimed the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s pharmacare report showed the federal government can extend prescription drug coverage for every Canadian and a universal pharmacare program would save the country between $4 and $11 billion.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh raised the issue during a visit to Nanaimo in March.

The town hall takes place between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and audience members will be able to ask questions.