Opinion | Smart change to health care in Ontario

At first glance, the sudden decision of the Ontario government to restrict the number of young people eligible for free prescription drugs confirmed the worst fears that many people have of these newly progressive-conservative elected.

After all, Christine Elliott sworn in at the end of June when she announced that the OHIP + program, presented with a lot of fanfare by the previous Liberal government on January 1, would no longer be offered to children and youth adults with private coverage.

PCs had a day on the field. Does not that prove that conservatives are cheap-hearted? Does not that prove that Doug Ford would go ahead with cuts in spending and services, no matter who is injured?

And if you did not look closely at what Elliott had actually done, you could have agreed.

At first glance, however, the PCs have fine-tuned a well-meaning but ill-conceived plan to improve the situation of Ontario more and more. disputed public health system.

And they added to an important and necessary debate on whether this country should finally put in place a national pharmacare program and, if so, what it would look like.

For years, people have reported a glaring gap in the coverage of public health care in most parts of Canada, including Ontario.

If you need a family doctor in Ontario, If you need treatment by a specialist or in a hospital for a serious medical problem, it is also funded by the doctor. State.

But for a long time, if you needed a prescribed medication to cure what was plaguing you in Ontario, you had to find your own way to pay, unless you were disabled, on social badistance or an old person. Even then, the range of drugs covered is limited, with the province paying about 4,400 drugs, a fraction of the thousands of drugs available.

It is generally understood that it is a failure of the Canadian health insurance plan. poor.