CPE Speaker Series
Zoom
Envisioning Pharmacare in Canada: From Rhetoric to Reality?
Drugs are the second biggest expenditure in health care, after hospitals, yet there are huge gaps in coverage with 20% of Canadians struggling to pay for their medications. Canada is the only country in the world with universal health care that does not provide universal coverage for prescription drugs. Canada presently relies on a patchwork of more than 100 government-run drug insurance programs and more than 100,000 private drug insurance plans, which can create large gaps and disparities regarding the availability and affordability of prescription drugs.
Our Panelists
Jeff Yurek
Jeff is a pharmacist, co-owner of Yurek Pharmacy, and former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). After graduating from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto in 1995, Jeff joined the family pharmacy business. In 2011 Jeff pursued a nomination for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party for the riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London and served for a decade, with roles including the official health critic of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition. In 2018, Jeff served as Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Minister of Transportation, and Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Joseph Berger
Joseph leads McKesson Canada through leadership and research work, as the senior director of government affairs. Since 2017, Joseph has helped McKesson Canada navigate the opportunities and challenges related to healthcare public policy in Canada. Joseph has a Master’s degree in public policy and public administration, and has written extensively on social policy issues related to higher education, healthcare, and federal-provincial policymaking in Canada. He is deeply interested in exploring how the entire healthcare sector, including both public entities and private corporations, can work collaboratively to improve health outcomes, equity and access to care.
Mike Sullivan
Mike co-founded Cubic Health in 2003 and serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Cubic provides plan analytics and clinically based solutions to self-insured health benefit plans. Mike began his career as a Community Pharmacist and has previous experience working in both the pharmaceutical and benefits consulting industries. He is a frequent speaker, both domestically and internationally, on topics related to health benefit plans for groups such as the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute and the Conference Board of Canada.