Nigel Rawson
While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Nigel Rawson.
Rare disease sufferers in Canada – Orphans of “Universal” Medicare: Nigel S.B. Rawson and John Adams
Canadians with rare diseases need practical laws that encourage research and access to life-saving treatments—not empty gestures or restrictive policies.
Life on hold – How Canada’s drug approval delays endanger patients: Nigel S.B. Rawson and John Adams
Health care across Canada is in crisis. In addition to known burdens of disease and therapies, Canada’s processes have become too bureaucratic and burdensome. With more barriers and layers of gatekeepers than any other country, Canadians are being forced to wait unacceptably long to access new and potentially lifesaving therapies. There’s already significant shortages of doctors, nurses and hospital beds...
Canada’s national pharmacare plan – boon or bane?
National pharmacare, as proposed by the federal government, will not improve patient access to innovative medicines without major changes to current gatekeeping practices. Without deeper reforms, it could make drug access worse for patients. Canadians used to be proud of their “national medicare,” but health care across the country is now in crisis (Angus Reid Institute 2023). There’s a significant...
National pharmacare – might it be a pig in a poke? Nigel Rawson and John Adams for Inside Policy
No Canadian should have to choose between paying for medicines and paying for rent or food. National pharmacare has been proposed as a remedy to this situation. “When will Canada have national pharmacare?” asks the author of a recent article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Better questions are: will Canadian pharmacare be the system many Canadians hope for? Or...
Spend less on dental care and pharmacare, more on treatments for rare medical disorders
The federal government is committing tens of billions of tax dollars to two new programs — dental care and pharmacare. In our view, a persuasive argument can be made that the money would do more good if more of it were directed to Canadians with rare disorders.