OTTAWA — The federal government has tapped a panel of five experts to craft the path toward a universal pharmacare program.

Dr. Nav Persaud, the Canada Research Chair in health justice, will chair a committee that includes a variety of health-care professionals who are tasked with advising the government on the next steps of the program.

The Liberals and NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.

The bill became law on Oct. 10, and allows the federal government to sign agreements with the provinces and territories to begin providing free access to contraceptives and diabetes medication.

Separately, the expert committee will come up with recommendations for creating a universal, single-payer pharmacare program.

The committee will submit a report to the health minister by Oct. 10, 2025, and that report will go to Parliament.

The experts include Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions; Amy Lamb, executive director of the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada; Dr. Stéphane Ahern, an associate clinical professor at the Université de Montréal ; and Dr. Steve Morgan, an expert on pharmacare systems at the University of British Columbia.

The committee will engage with provinces and territories, Indigenous groups and experts as it prepares the report.

In a statement, the NDP says it welcomes the appointment of the committee.

The federal Conservatives have said they would reject a single-payer drug plan if they form government.

Conservative governments in Alberta and Ontario have also expressed skepticism about signing onto the initial deals with the Liberal government.

Health Minister Mark Holland has said he hopes to have deals signed with all provinces and territories by next spring to begin coverage of birth-control and diabetes medications.

British Columbia has already signed a memorandum of understanding to provide coverage. Manitoba’s NDP government began covering prescription birth control on Oct. 1 and has indicated interest in making a deal with Ottawa.

That initial program is a universal, first-dollar, single-payer model, according to Holland, meaning that patients will not pay for the medications. People with a private health plan that covers the medicines can choose whether to use their health coverage or the federal plan.

But when asked about the national program’s structure last month, Holland refused to speculate on whether it will be a mixed-payer system or a single-payer system.

Instead, he said the expert panel will be tasked with sorting out what type of system will work best.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.

— With files from Laura Osman

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press