people in those communities. Recommendation 34 – The proposed new Home Care Transfer should be used to support expansion of the Canada Health Act to include medically necessary home care services in the following areas: Home mental health case management and intervention services should immediately be included in the scope of medically necessary services covered under the Canada Health Act; Home care services for post-acute patients, including coverage for medication management and rehabilitation services, should be included under the Canada Health Act; and palliative home care services to support people in their last six months of life should also be included under the Canada Health Act. Recommendation 35 – Human Resources Development Canada, in conjunction with Health Canada should be directed to develop proposals to provide direct support to informal caregivers to allow them to spend time away from work to provide necessary home care assistance at critical times. Recommendation 36 – The proposed new Catastrophic Drug Transfer should be used to reduce disparities in coverage across the country by covering a portion of the rapidly growing costs of provincial and territorial drug plans. Recommendation 37 – A new National Drug Agency should be established to evaluate and approve new prescription drugs, provide ongoing evaluation of existing drugs, negotiate and contain drug prices, and provide comprehensive, objective and accurate information to health care providers and to the public. Recommendation 38 – Working collaboratively with the provinces and territories, the National Drug Agency should create a national prescription drug formulary based on a transparent and accountable evaluation and priority-setting process. Recommendation 39 – A new program on medication management should be established to assist Canadians with chronic and some life-threatening illnesses. The program should be integrated with primary health care approaches across the country. Recommendation 40 – The National Drug Agency should develop standards for the collection and dissemination of prescription drug data on drug utilization and outcomes. Recommendation 41 – The federal government should immediately review the pharmaceutical industry practices related to patent protection, specifically, the practices of evergreening and the notice of compliance regulations. This review should ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the protection of intellectual property and the need to contain costs and provide Canadians with improved access to non-patented prescription drugs. Recommendation 42 – Current funding for Aboriginal health services provided by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and Aboriginal organizations should be pooled