If the Canadian government wants to tackle drug coverage, it should focus on the areas where Canadians are facing genuine gaps, according to Joe Farago, executive director of health-care innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada. “The reality is only 1.8 per cent of Canadians have no form of private or public drug coverage,” said Farago, speaking at Benefits […]
An expert panel is calling for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to create a single-payer public pharmacare program. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s former health minister, released the findings in Ottawa on Wednesday, noting the recommendations aim to address the country’s patchwork of private and public prescription drug plans. The council is recommending […]
If the Canadian government wants to tackle drug coverage, it should focus on the areas where Canadians are facing genuine gaps, according to Joe Farago, executive director of health-care innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada. “The reality is only 1.8 per cent of Canadians have no form of private or public drug coverage,” said Farago, speaking at Benefits […]
British Columbia is expanding its use of biosimilars, effective November 2019. The move is expected to create opportunities for new drug listings and increase current coverage for patients, according to a press release from the B.C. government. The first two drugs to come into immediate effect are Jardiance, a diabetes drug, and Taltz, an arthritis drug. It will change the game considerably, says Suzanne Lepage, a private […]
Specialty medications and high-cost drugs for common conditions are driving up private plan drug spending, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report found the rapid increases in drug spending for private plans over the last 20 years have started to slow. The average annual drug spending per plan member was up just 0.9 per cent […]
Health Canada has proposed amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations that would make it easier for drug companies to get authorization to produce generic versions of brand name drugs. The amendments would allow Health Canada to more quickly to approve generic drug applications that have the same active ingredients as their brand name equivalent […]
While some say a single-payer system would mean reduced drug prices and expenditures, others argue it could have unintended consequences, particularly for private plan sponsors. Marc-André Gagnon, associate professor at Carleton University’s school of public policy and administration: Canada’s drug coverage is a patchwork without coherence or purpose. Some think more patches can solve the […]
In its 2019 budget on Tuesday, the federal government confirmed it will work with partners to move forward on three foundational elements of national pharmacare. The initial steps are the creation of a new national drug agency and a national formulary, which were both recommended by the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare in its interim […]
The advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare has submitted its interim report to the federal government. The report sets out three initial recommendations for the implementation of national pharmacare: Creating a national drug agency to oversee national pharmacare; Developing a comprehensive, evidence-based list of prescribed drugs — a national formulary — to harmonize coverage […]
While the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is in agreement with the general intent of the Ontario government’s proposed changes to the OHIP+ program, it’s strongly encouraging a number of considerations to preserve the revised program as planned and avoid unintended consequences. The proposed amendments would roll back the OHIP+ program, which was introduced […]