SPPA Professor Marc-André Gagnon has just published a compelling new chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Social Policy in Canada titled “Pharmacare and Access to Medicines”

SPPA Professor Marc-André Gagnon has authored a new chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Social Policy in Canada, offering a critical analysis of Canada’s fragmented approach to prescription drug coverage. While most OECD countries with universal healthcare systems include prescription drugs as a core component, Canada remains an exception, relying instead on a patchwork of public and private plans that leave many Canadians without adequate access.

In this chapter, Professor Gagnon argues that the central issue is not merely a lack of coverage but the very nature of the system itself: an inequitable, inefficient, and unsustainable patchwork with no clear coherence or policy vision. He examines the structure of current drug coverage, the challenges it creates in terms of access and affordability, and the ongoing policy debates surrounding pharmacare reform. The chapter concludes with a timely analysis of recent federal legislation that could mark the beginning of a shift toward universal pharmacare in Canada.

This publication is a significant contribution to the national conversation on health policy and the future of drug coverage in Canada.

Check it out here: https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/59771/chapter-abstract/508732601?redirectedFrom=fulltext