Add Asthma Medication to Pharmacare Plan

Please add all asthma medication to the Pharmacare Plan. As of 2022, the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System says 4,498,295 Canadians age 1 year and older have asthma which is a prevalence rate of 11.94% (Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (CCDSS) (canada.ca)) which makes it the third most common chronic disease in Canada (2021-Annual-Report-Final.pdf (asthma.ca)).  Asthma in Canada - Data Blog - Chronic Disease Infobase | Public Health Agency of Canada states that asthma disproportionately affects children and youth along with 443 Canadians were newly diagnosed per day in 2011 alone. Asthma Canada's 2021 report states that in 2021, 317 Canadians per day were newly diagnosed (2021-Annual-Report-Final.pdf (asthma.ca)). Asthma is 40% more prevalent among First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities than the general Canadian population (2021-Annual-Report-Final.pdf (asthma.ca)). Therefore, this disease is clearly not going anywhere and is still a significant problem that Canadians face. Sadly, it is estimated that 250 Canadians every year died from this disease (2021-Annual-Report-Final.pdf (asthma.ca)) which means 4 to 5 Canadian families lose a loved one to asthma each week but adding all asthma medications to our Pharmacare Plan and ensuring all Canadians with asthma can always afford their medication can help prevent that.