How Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten Canadians’ access to prescription drugs
If the United States imposes 25 per cent tariffs on exports from Canada, nearly all economists agree a recession is inevitable. Estimates are that between to jobs are at risk.
Based on previous recessions, the and stay stuck at that level for some time.
Adding insult to injury, are covered by employer-sponsored drug plans, which means that when these workers get laid off, they also lose their health benefits, including prescription drug insurance tied to their jobs.
Affordability of prescription drugs
During the COVID-19 pandemic, , about one-fifth of the population reported not having insurance to cover prescription medications. This coincided with a soaring unemployment rate that in May 2020. The problem of not having insurance for prescription medications was among immigrants and racialized people. These are the same groups of people that will be at the highest risk of any recession-linked job losses.
Unsurprisingly, spent more than $500 out-of-pocket in 2022 on prescription drugs compared to 10 per cent for those with insurance. Canadians in the in absolute terms than those in the highest income quintile ($296 versus $268) in 2009, and it’s unlikely this disparity has significantly changed.
Already there are estimates that the leads to 370 to 640 premature deaths due to ischemic heart disease, 550 to 670 premature deaths from all causes among people 55-64 years of age and avoidable deterioration in health status in 70,000 people age 55 and over.
When Canadians must choose between buying prescription drugs and paying for food and rent, it’s often no contest; patients skip their medications and suffer the consequences. The result is .
Tariffs and drug prices
Added to the threat of losing prescription drug coverage with job loss is the very real possibility that drug prices will increase. of the active pharmaceutical ingredients that go into the medicines that North Americans take originate in China. U.S President Donald Trump has now threatened to slap U.S. tariffs on that were previously exempt.
Canada already annually in prescription drugs from the U.S. To the extent that tariffed drugs go from China to the U.S. to Canada, the cost of both publicly and privately funded drug plans will increase.
Those people at the bottom of the income scale who pay out-of-pocket — and can least afford to pay more — will be saddled with those higher prices. If Canada follows the U.S. in imposing tariffs on drugs made in China, , then the price of generic drugs made in Canada from Chinese ingredients will also rise.
We can hope that any tariffs — on Canada or China — will be only temporary and we can avoid the ongoing effects on both access to prescription drugs and their price. But given Trump’s volatility and unpredictability, we can’t rely on that outcome.
With the passage in October 2024 of Canada’s new Pharmacare Act, the government of Canada committed to “.” We need to expand Canada’s federal pharmacare plan to cover all Canadians for all medically necessary drugs. Indeed, the need has never been as acute.
So far, have signed agreements with the federal government to cover contraceptives and diabetes drugs and devices — the only products currently covered under Bill C-64. The remaining provinces and territories urgently need to sign on. Prime Minister must decisively commit to expanding the range of drugs that is covered by pharmacare.
All the provincial, territorial and federal leaders have . Expanding pharmacare is part of that protection.
By Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management, 91ɫ
