For World Contraception Day, this group is calling for a commitment to pharmacare in N.L.

Advocates for publicly funded pharmaceuticals leveraged World Contraception Day this week to urge the Newfoundland and Labrador government to commit to signing up for national pharmacare funding.

The Canada Pharmacare Act, known as Bill C-64, is in the final stages of being passed, and may receive royal assent this fall. 

For provinces that choose to implement the policy, those with the applicable provincial health-care cards will have free access to birth control and diabetes medications and devices.

Yvonne Earle, a member of the Avalon chapter of the Council of Canadians, says that with the rising cost of living, pharmacare would benefit residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Many people are saying that they can no longer afford their medications, or it's creating a real crunch that's often not talked about," Earle told CBC News. 

She said pharmacare would alleviate some pressure on the health-care system, benefiting the province in the long run: if people can afford to take their medications, it limits the need for additional medical intervention or emergency room visits. 

She referenced a study conducted in Ontario where one group of people were given their medications for a year and took them as prescribed, while another group of people were left on their own. 

"The cost savings to the system in Ontario was over $1,200 per person, and that included visits to emergency admissions to hospital and other kinds of medical interventions that were needed," Earle said. 

British Columbia offers free birth control. Earle said when Access Canada projected this forward for health systems in Canada, hundreds of millions of dollars would be saved nationally.

"We would save $287,000,000 in pregnancy-related costs in 2024 dollars, and for diabetes, we would save $869,000,000 in 2024 dollars. That's a lot of money that can be saved from the health system and redirected elsewhere in the health system," she said.

The council is delivering letters to Premier Andrew Furey and Health Minister John Hogan from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that ask for a public commitment to national pharmacare funding.

Ideally, she said the premier will make an announcement regarding the commitment before Sunday, during what government has dubbed "Wellbeing Week."

"This very definitely is one of the social determinants of health: whether you can afford your medications and to take them as they are prescribed," she said.

But Newfoundland and Labrador won't commit to the policy until government officials receive more details about funding.