On election day, make your voice count. #Vote4Arthritis
The general election in Ontario is scheduled for February 27, 2025. ACE is asking Ontario parties and candidates how, if elected, they will improve the timely access to suitable arthritis treatment and care.
The arthritis community is a significant constituency in Ontario.
Arthritis affects more than 2.4 million Ontario voters. There are over 100 types of arthritis, and despite the misconception that it is only a disease of older adults, two-thirds of Ontario residents with arthritis are younger than 65. It is the leading cause of work disability in Ontario. and a significant economic burden related to direct health care costs and indirect costs to the economy related to lost employment, sick leave, and absenteeism.
Health care is one of the most important issues for Ontario voters leading up to the February 27, 2025 provincial election. The way people living with arthritis access and receive health care varies significantly across the province, particularly in rural and remote communities. Another barrier is timely access to advanced therapies. Currently, Ontario Drug Benefit reimbursement criteria require patients to first fail on older, less effective treatments, causing unnecessary delays in accessing the most appropriate therapies for the right patient at the right time.
These barriers particularly affect people living with inflammatory arthritis – like rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis or lupus – who depend on getting a timely and accurate diagnosis, fast access to rheumatologists, and appropriate public reimbursement for essential medications.
The time to arthritis prevention, treatment, and care is now after years of being at the back of the line of health care planning and delivery in Ontario.
That’s why it is important for you as an Ontario voter to make your voice heard. To help you with your decision, Arthritis Consumer Experts is asking political parties and the candidates running for office to share their perspectives on how to meet the needs of the one in five Ontario residents living with arthritis.
ACE’s questionnaire asks the following questions:
- Will your government commit to continued funding of the Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Arthritis Care (ACPAC) Project to improve models of arthritis care in Northern Ontario, including Phase 4 expansion?
- Will your government commit to modernizing the Ontario Drug Benefit Program by making special access criteria less demanding and restrictive to improve timely patient access to advanced biologic and tsDMARDs medications?
- Will your government introduce culturally appropriate, patient-centered policies to help Indigenous Peoples navigate the healthcare system and receive coordinated care within their community to manage their arthritis?
- Will your government commit to reinvesting biosimilars savings to increase accessibility to new medicines and expand coverage for existing medicines for people living with inflammatory arthritis?
- Will your government work with the arthritis community to reduce avoidable emergency department use by people living with arthritis?
- What will your government do to ensure the continuation, improvement, and expansion of virtual care for Ontario residents – both patients and health care professionals – and ensure access is equitable to all?
ACE will be collecting candidate responses and posting them on ACE’s Ontario Election 2025 homepage as we receive them.
If you have comments, questions, or concerns about any of the answers provided, please plan to attend a public forum or debate to hear from the candidates.
On February 27, 2025, make your voice count: #Vote4Arthritis. For more information on how to vote, please visit Elections Ontario to find out your options, including voting on election day, at your local election office, at an advance voting location, by mail, or by home visit.