Medical students are lobbying the provincial government to take action to "more accessible and affordable pharmacare" on a national scale.
The University of British Columbia group, which includes Northern Medical Program students, are headed to B.C.'s capital Monday.
"We have a national, universal medical care program. Medical students are asking, why not national pharmacare?" said Simran Lehal, an NMP student who sits on the UBC Medical Undergraduate Society's political advocacy committee.
"A poll conducted in 2015 indicated the vast majority of Canadians support national pharmacare," said Lehal in an email, adding that sentiment is echoed by the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
The hope is that national funding would increase access to medicines, reduced cost of drugs, and improved health outcomes, the release said, with many residents reporting they don't fill prescriptions due to cost.
Lehal and a Janine Reid will be among the students travelling to the Legislative Assembly of B.C. to discuss the topic.
"In the north in particular, patients can face unique barriers to accessing care," said Lehal in an email. "Medical students are advocating for a universal, national pharmacare program for at least some of those barriers to be removed."
It's the third time the group has made the trek as part of a provincial lobby day with the Medical Undergraduate Society, which represents more than 1,100 medical undergraduate students in B.C.
