In Canada, about half of prescription drug costs are privately funded. As drug costs rise between eight and 10 per cent each year, governments are feeling the pressure to provide some relief to private payers. Ontario is responding with the introduction of a new program that will provide prescription drug coverage for all Ontarians under […]
A year ago, the Association of Ontario Midwives Benefits Trust received its highest drug claim ever at $55,000 for a 12-week treatment of Harvoni, which treats hepatitis C. The plan deliberated whether it would fund the drug but it ultimately decided not to. “It was a very difficult decision,” says Nicole Mellin, executive director at […]
The number of high-cost drugs and patients with multiple chronic conditions continues to rise, according to Express Scripts Canada’s drug trend report for 2016. While some plan sponsors have addressed increasing costs with measures such as generic pricing or limiting access to some drugs, the report suggested they should focus on providing certain plan members […]
As Benefits Canada reported last week, the Ontario government announced in its 2017 budget that it will begin offering universal pharmacare to youth under the age of 25. The program will take effect on January 1, 2018, and will cover the 4,400 medications in the Ontario drug benefit formulary. “By eliminating financial barriers to prescribed drugs, […]
Ontario is introducing a pharmacare program for all residents aged 24 and under, Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced Thursday as he tabled the province’s 2017 budget. The new program will launch on Jan. 1, 2018, and will offer universal drug coverage for all medicines listed in the Ontario drug benefit formulary. There will be no copayment […]
If Canadian pharmacists played a larger role in dispensing flu shots, reviewing cardiovascular disease medication and providing help with smoking cessation, the health-care system could save between $2.5 billion and $25.7 billion over the next 20 years, according to a study from the Conference Board of Canada. Co-sponsored by the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Alliance […]
In the 2017 budget released last week, the federal government said it’s aiming to lower pharmaceutical prices and improve access to prescription medications through significant investments in a variety of health-care agencies. The government has committed $140.3 million over five years, starting in 2017-2018, to Health Canada, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and the Canadian Agency for […]
A group of Toronto physicians have drafted a list of 125 essential medicines for use in Canada, publishing their findings in the Canadian Medical Association Journal’s online publication CMAJ Open. Provincial formularies that list thousands of medications — the Ontario Drug Benefit formulary lists 3,800 drugs, for example — make it difficult for physicians to […]
British Columbia’s Pharmacare program will expand its drug coverage for hepatitis C treatments in March as a result of successful negotiations brokered by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance. PharmaCare is expanding the criteria to provide coverage to more patients living with the disease in March. From 2018, PharmaCare will provide coverage for any British Columbian living […]
The federal government should allow each province to decide which health-care services would best serve their populations, a report from the Montreal Economic Institute argues. Ottawa plans to force the provinces to spend a portion of the federal health transfer on specific areas, such as mental-health programs and home-care services. “Health care is an area […]