The Editor,
Re. “MSP rule will cost” (The Tri-City News, March 16).
Why not offset the payroll tax with pharmacare?
MSP was one of the most regressive taxes out there. When someone who makes $45,000 a year has to pay the same amount as someone who makes $450,000, that is not fair taxation.
Generally those with well-paying, stable jobs already enjoyed their employer paying the MSP premiums while those with more precarious work paid out of pocket.
I’ve been in both situations.
I’m glad the new government is getting rid of that system and has figured out a more progressive way to pay for the lost revenue, as after 16 years of tax cuts primarily benefiting the wealthy and corporations, we cannot afford to take more out of social programs, which a recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows saves money for the health care system and results in a healthier society.
There is a way, however, that B.C. municipalities can recoup approximately two thirds of the more progressive payroll tax, and it also has to do with more equitable health funding.
The federal government is currently looking into a pharmacare plan and I would urge every Tri-Cities municipality and citizen to send a letter supporting such a system. Currently, Canadians pay more for their pharmaceutical drugs than any other OECD country.
Approximately 10% cannot afford their prescriptions, leaving often the most vulnerable of us to choose between rent, food or health.
Municipalities currently pay at least a part of their employees’ private health care costs.
Calculations done by the Canadian Doctors for Medicare, outlined in a report by Columbia Institute for Civic Governance, estimates that a city the size of Vancouver would save $3 million a year if we had national pharmacare, which translates roughly to $1 million for the Tri-Cities population.
I would rather have the payroll tax than MSP premiums but I hope that our municipalities show leadership in asking the federal government to ensure all Canadians had equitable access of medications.
It would save them money.
Amy Lubik, Port Moody
