Catastrophic Drug Coverage in New Brunswick

New Brunswick remains one of only two provinces in Canada without a provincially-funded catastrophic drug program. As a result, individuals and families in this province continue to grapple with high drug costs with little support or assistance from the provincial government.

Since 2008, the NB Catastrophic Drug Stakeholders Group, under the leadership of the Canadian Cancer Society New Brunswick, has advocated for a provincial catastrophic drug program.

Background

The purpose of catastrophic drug coverage is to protect citizens from undue financial hardship when paying for necessary medications. Despite the lack of federal action on this issue, eight of 10 provinces have implemented catastrophic drug programs. While the programs vary from province to province, they provide for their residents a measure of protection from high drug costs. That measure of protection currently does not exist for New Brunswickers.

As treatments and drug therapies improve, cancer and other serious illnesses are increasingly being managed outside the hospital setting and beyond the benefits and assistance of Medicare. New Brunswickers are paying a growing proportion of the costs associated with their own cancer treatment. In the absence of a provincial catastrophic drug program, New Brunswickers are facing prohibitive drug costs, which compromises their treatment and recovery.

In 2010, Premier David Alward committed to implementing a catastrophic drug program within the first year of his mandate. To date, no timeline for implementation has been determined.

In December 2012, the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation’s Advisory Committee on Health Benefits released a report to the Province of New Brunswick with recommendations for providing a prescription drug plan for uninsured New Brunswickers. This program, if adopted, would largely alleviate the financial burden facing uninsured New Brunswickers. However, it does not adequately address the Province’s commitment to implement a catastrophic drug program which would help all New Brunswick residents.

The Canadian Cancer Society New Brunswick is calling on the Government of New Brunswick to:

• Implement the prescription drug plan for uninsured New Brunswickers as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Health Benefits.
• Follow through on its commitment to implement a catastrophic drug program that would be available to all New Brunswick residents, including those with private health plans whose coverage is inadequate.

For more information about how you can become involved in this issue, please contact 1-800-455-9090 or email ccsnb@nb.cancer.ca.