Nova Scotia - Take Heed Newfoundland and Labrador

Let's see if the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador follows the lead of provinces such as Ontario and closer to home Nova Scotia.


Generic price caps blamed for closure of Nova Scotia village pharmacy
 
(Carol Moreira - CanadianHealthcareNetwork)
 
The only pharmacy in the Nova Scotia village of Lawrencetown will close this summer and critics are blaming the cap on the price of generic drugs, introduced last year.

Pharmacy co-owner Rob Perry told the Chronicle-Herald that lower generic prices played a role in the store's closure, although rising costs and falling income also contributed.

"Economically, it's just not feasible. It's more expensive to run a business than it was two years ago," Perry said. The Lawrencetown Pharmasave opened in 1955 and will close on June 30th.

Allison Bodnar, executive director of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia said the Lawrencetown Pharmasave is the first closure, but many pharmacies are suffering because of the cap on the price of generics sold to Pharmacare recipients.

 "Reduced hours, staff layoffs, reduced services and even further closures can be expected as the final legislated price cuts take effect this summer," Bodnar said.

What is Kennedy Hiding? Quite a bit!

Catering to the big guys - that is what Ministers Jerome Kennedy and Tom Marshall are doing. They are running with the flow of central Canada and attempting to adopt a failed health-care policy.

Minister Marshall - almost gushing at the announcement of a rebate on oil costs for the vulnerable in our society. Should we do this? Absolutely - as an established democratic - socially conscious province - we don't do enough.

Here's the problem - Minister Marshall is not taking on the oil companies and asking them to lower prices in Newfoundland and Labrador to match other provinces in the country - no he will not go after the astronomical profits of big oil. Then there is food - the province/taxpayers pay so much in each and every income assistance cheque to pay for nutrition for the vulnerable in our society. Minister Marshall however will NOT ask that the giant food retailers like Sobeys and Dominion cut their rebates - or go to their suppliers and products and say we want you to lower the price of food coming into our province to equal other provinces in Canada.

The only thing that Minister Marshall is willing to do is go after the livelihood and viability of rural independent pharmacies. This is an absolute kick at rural communities and local businesses. This is a disgrace.

So what if the province used food cards as they use drug cards for those receiving assistance? Would Sobeys and Dominion put in place the technology to accept theses cards and then wait for 2 weeks to get paid? Would they help the person fill out forms monthly to keep their food card? Would they allow dietitians employed by the province to set a price they could charge for food? Would they let their competitors decide? Would they accept and do whatever the government says when it says regarding a food card? NO

Perhaps the government should try this - they don't need a drug card just as they feel they do not need a food card - they should simply provide funds to the person to pick up their prescription drugs. Perhaps they should ask the large food retailers to install a system to keep track of what people are eating and then provide that information to a nutritionist to determine if more money is needed for a family on assistance to achieve a balanced and nutritious diet. We must all remember that the best chance for good health relies heavily on ones diet and access to healthy meals. If this were achieved the government would see a significant reduction in costs to the drug program. People would be healthier.

Now the real issue - the ONLY thing in this province which is going down is the price of generic prescription drugs. Over the past 5 years it has gone down year over year and that will continue. Can we say the same for electricity, oil/gas, and food? Why then is the government focusing on the price of generic drugs?

On the other side of the spectrum - the price of brand name drugs is going up year over year. These prices are set by a federal body and the provinces are doing nothing to change this policy. They are also doing nothing on a proposed EU trade agreement that would see an increased patent protection for these pharmaceutical giants. Once again the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not telling the people the truth - they are not telling the people that the price of patented drugs will stay high for an additional 3 or 4 years from their inaction.

Why would the government of this province allow this to happen? It affects everybody - it drives prices up for everybody! The only reason possible for such a regressive policy to get the thumbs up from Marshall and Kennedy is because the feds are holding them hostage on something they want. We all know what that is.

One has to ask why these Ministers are showing such utter disrespect to these local business owners and disregard for the health-care services of rural communities? That is a very important and yet unanswered question.