Earlier today, Russell Williams, Senior Vice President of Mission at Diabetes Canada, appeared before the Standing Committee on Health meeting on Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare. Diabetes Canada is urging parliamentarians to proceed carefully to ensure the new pharmacare plan is comprehensive and supports personalized care based on consultation between individuals and their health-care team.
“Through our I-800-BANTING line, we hear from too many people living with diabetes who have difficulty obtaining the medications they need. Many have coverage but many are un- or underinsured,” says Russell Williams, Senior Vice President of Mission at Diabetes Canada. “With broad consultation and engagement, and careful implementation, Bill C-64 could be a significant step towards reducing barriers to diabetes care, to make sure no one gets left behind.”
Diabetes Canada provided three primary recommendations to improve C-64 and benefit people living with diabetes:
Diabetes Canada made a detailed analysis of Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare, with its evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to inform its position.
The clinical practice guidelines are rigorously developed to inform general patterns of care; reduce inappropriate variation in practice; promote efficient use of health-care resources; identify gaps in knowledge; and inform public policy to improve the quality of care and health-care outcomes for people in Canada who live with diabetes.
The resulting document also makes a comparison between the proposed bill and the Non-Insured Health Benefits Plan (NIHB) for Indigenous and Inuit peoples operated by the federal government.
The organization further provided the Formulary Listings for Diabetes Medications in Canada by province and territories for further demonstrate the existing coverage people living with diabetes experience, depending on where they live.
Diabetes Canada has long advocated for improved access to medications, devices and services at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.
Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare, was first introduced on February 29, 2024.
Quotes
“Through our I-800-BANTING line, we hear from too many people living with diabetes who have difficulty obtaining the medications they need. Many have coverage but many are un- or underinsured,” says Russell Williams, Senior Vice President of Mission at Diabetes Canada. “With broad consultation and engagement, and careful implementation, Bill C-64 could be a significant step towards reducing barriers to diabetes care, to make sure no one gets left behind.”
—Russell Williams, Senior Vice President, Mission at Diabetes Canada
“As a person living with type 2 diabetes, I have experienced first-hand the challenges of affording the life-saving medications prescribed to me by my healthcare provider. But I also know what works for my own diabetes management isn't the same for others who manage this condition. We need to make sure that a pharmacare program includes the best treatments to manage diabetes, as decided by both patient and healthcare provider.”
—Jennifer Lopez, person living with type 2 diabetes
Resource
“Through our I-800-BANTING line, we hear from too many people living with diabetes who have difficulty obtaining the medications they need. Many have coverage but many are un- or underinsured,” says Russell Williams, Senior Vice President of Mission at Diabetes Canada. “With broad consultation and engagement, and careful implementation, Bill C-64 could be a significant step towards reducing barriers to diabetes care, to make sure no one gets left behind.”
Diabetes Canada provided three primary recommendations to improve C-64 and benefit people living with diabetes:
- Emphasize Comprehensiveness and Choice: Each person living with diabetes is unique and needs a choice of effective intervention to personalize and adapt their recommended treatment. The government should utilize Diabetes Canada’s clinical practice guidelines and develop a more comprehensive formulary.
- Continued Improvement in Access and Care: New techniques and treatments will continue to become available after the pharmacare program is adopted. Therefore, the government should adopt a principle of ‘continued improvement of care and access’ as outlined in Diabetes Canada’s clinical practice guidelines.
- Robust and Fulsome Consultation: The government should conduct a robust and fulsome consultation, including with persons with lived experience of diabetes, healthcare providers, researchers, the provinces and territories, and Indigenous communities to develop real and practical scenarios regarding the impact of the proposed plan.
Diabetes Canada made a detailed analysis of Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare, with its evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to inform its position.
The clinical practice guidelines are rigorously developed to inform general patterns of care; reduce inappropriate variation in practice; promote efficient use of health-care resources; identify gaps in knowledge; and inform public policy to improve the quality of care and health-care outcomes for people in Canada who live with diabetes.
The resulting document also makes a comparison between the proposed bill and the Non-Insured Health Benefits Plan (NIHB) for Indigenous and Inuit peoples operated by the federal government.
The organization further provided the Formulary Listings for Diabetes Medications in Canada by province and territories for further demonstrate the existing coverage people living with diabetes experience, depending on where they live.
Diabetes Canada has long advocated for improved access to medications, devices and services at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.
Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare, was first introduced on February 29, 2024.
Quotes
“Through our I-800-BANTING line, we hear from too many people living with diabetes who have difficulty obtaining the medications they need. Many have coverage but many are un- or underinsured,” says Russell Williams, Senior Vice President of Mission at Diabetes Canada. “With broad consultation and engagement, and careful implementation, Bill C-64 could be a significant step towards reducing barriers to diabetes care, to make sure no one gets left behind.”
—Russell Williams, Senior Vice President, Mission at Diabetes Canada
“As a person living with type 2 diabetes, I have experienced first-hand the challenges of affording the life-saving medications prescribed to me by my healthcare provider. But I also know what works for my own diabetes management isn't the same for others who manage this condition. We need to make sure that a pharmacare program includes the best treatments to manage diabetes, as decided by both patient and healthcare provider.”
—Jennifer Lopez, person living with type 2 diabetes
Resource
- Read Diabetes Canada’s Position Paper, with a comparison of Diabetes Canada’s CPGs, NIHB and Bill C-64 Formulary Listings, and the diabetes medications formulary listings by province and territory.