Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said Alberta plans to opt out of the federal pharmacare deal. (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Alberta plans to opt out of federal pharmacare plan

Feb 26, 2024 | 5:04 PM

The Government of Alberta will not be part of the newly announced federal pharmacare plan.

Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said on Monday, February 26, 2024, that the province was never consulted and that she was not able to provide any input.

She explains that all provinces and territories provide different types and amounts of drug coverage to their residents through different insurance partners. Because of this, LaGrange said federal Health Minister Mark Holland should have spoken with his provincial counterparts before approving such a significant deal.

The minister told members of the media that Alberta already has a “very robust” pharmacare system with a comprehensive list of drug coverage programs that help Albertans pay for their medications and related supplies.

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She also pointed to the province’s pharmacare partnership with Alberta Blue Cross, although it was noted that people need to pay into that system out-of-pocket to receive coverage.

LaGrange stated her belief that the deal reached between the federal Liberals and NDP appears to be more about maintaining political connections than actually helping Canadians.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said over the weekend that pharmacare was a key part of the supply and confidence arrangement that sees the Liberals pass some key NDP policies in exchange for the New Democrats supporting the minority Liberals.

LaGrange said she typically has good relations with the federal health minister, so she is not sure why nobody had reached out to her to discuss pharmacare solutions.

Instead of supporting the national plan, LaGrange said she wants Ottawa to provide per capita funding directly to Alberta.

From there, the provincial government could use that money to bolster its already-existing programs. However, she did not specify which programs would receive priority for top-up funding.

According to LaGrange, it is unclear at this time how much money Alberta could receive if they reached such a partnership with the feds.

There are already several federal programs in which the Quebec government receives capita funding due to it opting out of them, so LaGrange wants Ottawa to do the same with Alberta.

LaGrange said she has requested a meeting with minister Holland.