Public Interest Alberta hosting forums over senior drug plan changes, Medicine Hat

By Gillian Slade on November 4, 2013.Public Interest Alberta’s Seniors Task Force is urging the government to reconsider the changes to the seniors drug plan and they are holding forums for the public to attend, including one at Medicine Hat Library on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.Public Interest Alberta would like the Minister of Health to adopt a public universal pharmacare plan and to host public consultations on it. A change to the seniors’ drug program was announced by the government in March and will be implemented Jan. 1, 2014 but exactly how that will affect seniors, nobody is saying yet.Some seniors currently enjoying Blue Cross drug coverage may find they will no longer qualify under the government’s new pharmacare program, local MLAs have warned.When an Alberta resident reaches 65 years of age they currently automatically qualify for premium-free Alberta Blue Cross Coverage for seniors.The new pharmacare program will provide coverage for Albertans who qualify based on their income, according to information supplied by the ministry of health. Public Interest Alberta says a pharmacare plan should maximize the health of all citizens through appropriate and safe provision of medications. They also say the effectiveness of a pharmacare plan should be assessed by the extent to which it achieves this purpose.The forum on Tuesday is hosted by Friends of Medicare and the Parkland Institute.Read the article online at the Medicine Hat News.