I think it's an excellent question. Truly it benefits society at multiple levels: of course, the end-users, the patients, each of us who will be taking prescription medication in order to stay healthy.
I think businesses, particularly small businesses, are often forgotten when we discuss the potential benefits of a pharmacare program. They are paying for increasingly expensive and unsustainable private drug insurance plans, especially as medications become evermore expensive. We know that drug costs are particularly high in Canada. We are getting to the point where we almost cannot afford not to have a universal pharmacare program.
Definitely there are health benefits to each individual Canadian, but I think the economic benefits to small businesses are really undersold.