Senior Access to

3. Delays in Drug Approval and Reimbursement

Another often-overlooked challenge is the time it takes for medications to become accessible to seniors through public drug plans. After Health Canada approves a drug, it must undergo further review by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CDA/CADTH) and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) for costeffectiveness and pricing negotiations. Only then can individual provinces decide to list it on their formulary

This multi-layered process can delay access by 1 to 2 years —sometimes more—compared to countries like Germany or the United States For seniors living with chronic or progressive illnesses, such as arthritis, cancer, or heart disease, these delays can compromise quality of life and, in some cases, survival.

4. Complexity of the Healthcare System and Digital Divide

Many seniors struggle to navigate the complexities of provincial drug plans, reimbursement processes, and appeals systems. Language barriers, cognitive decline, and low digital literacy can all contribute to confusion and delay in accessing needed medications. As more provinces move to online portals for plan registration and prescription management, seniors who are not tech-savvy may be left behind.

Caregivers often step in to bridge this gap, but not all seniors have access to that support. For those living alone or with limited family engagement, the system can be overwhelming.

5. Lack of Integrated Pharmacare

The absence of a national pharmacare program continues to exacerbate disparities. While political discussions have circled around universal pharmacare for years, actual implementation has been slow. The result is a two-tiered system: those with private insurance (often employersponsored and lost upon retirement) and those who must rely on a patchwork of public programs. The 2019 Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare recommended a single-payer public pharmacare system, but progress has been slow due to federal-provincial jurisdictional tensions and concerns about cost.