Surgery wait times bigger health priority for Canadians than pharmacare: poll
Global News
As Liberals and the NDP negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.
As Liberals and New Democrats negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.
The survey shows that when asked to name their top two health-care priorities, only 18 per cent of those surveyed said the government should prioritize creating a new, universal, single-payer drug plan.
More funding toward surgical wait times, building more long-term care homes and expanding mental-health services all garnered significantly more support, at 36 per cent, 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
“All of that comes before having a universal single-payer drug plan,” said Christian Bourque, Leger’s executive vice-president.
“It’s not at the top of Canadians’ priority list.”
The Leger polling firm conducted the web survey of 1,622 Canadians from Friday to Sunday. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they are not considered truly random samples.
The Liberals promised to pass pharmacare legislation that would serve as the foundation of a national drug plan by the end of 2023, as part of their political pact with the NDP.
The survey shows 53 per cent of those polled were unfamiliar with the government’s plans.
