Prescription Drug Spending In Canad Case Study

Canadians embrace our universal healthcare system as a core national value; we are proud to say that we live in a country that ensures access to healthcare for all (Stanbrook, 2015). Sadly, there is a gaping hole in our supposedly universal system which is the lack of public coverage for prescription drugs for most Canadians.  Many Canadians face drug costs they can not afford, forcing them to either take their medicines less often than prescribed or do without them entirely.  By creating a universal single payer system of public insurance coverage for prescription drugs, a universal drug coverage plan like our current healthcare system, it would ensure affordability and comprehensiveness.  This intervention uses Geoffrey Rose’s population

Today, Canada is the only industrialized nation without a national pharmacare plan (“Campaign for a National Drug Plan” 1). Currently, each province has its own pharmacare plan and this creates differences in medication prices across the nation. Price depends on drug efficacy, how commonly the drug is used, and to what extent the provincial government decides to subsidize the drug. Overall, drug coverage in Canada depends on a person’s age, income, and the province they live in. Today, one in ten Canadians cannot afford the medications that their doctors prescribe (“Pharmacare 2020” 2). Their lack of

In the first Hall Royal Commission, Pharmacare is outlined as recommend in joining the covered benefits for Canadian citizens - Canadians pays slightly less than their U.S. counterparts for Pharmaceuticals (Armstrong, p51). Privatization influences an unequal system - creating significant hindrances for impoverished people in Canada, again creating a rich-poor divide that does not influence equality, which is the essence of the Canadian Health Act. As pointed out in The Canadian Regime, “In European Countries, drugs are covered by public insurance schemes. Why not do the same in Canada?” (Malcolmson, p226). Further, Malcolmson describes the possibility for the government to generate a type of bulk buying scheme - where we as a country can

Health care spending equates to approximately 40% of all provincial/territorial budgets, making health care the single largest expenditure (CIHI, 2015). Of this, Hospital, drug and physician expenditure

The Canadian government must implement an equitable national pharmacare program in which medically necessary prescription drugs are covered

This paper looks into a proposal on the introduction of a universal pharmaceutical policy or pharmacare in Canada. Canada is a country that has a global reputation of offering a successful healthcare to its populations. The Canadians enjoys free healthcare facilities because when they get sick they just need to visit the hospital or their doctors even when they do not have money. The government funds for the universal health policy by use of government revenues. The government gets the funds to pay the policies through taxation of Canadians who are well-off. Most Canadians especially the ordinary Canadians have benefited from the universal healthcare as it has increased their accessibility to health services (Fierlbeck, 2011).

The rise in costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs, the aging population, and increased use of costly specialty drugs. In recent history, increases in prescription drug costs have outpaced other categories of health care spending, rising rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s. (Kaiseredu.org, 2012).

(2012, October 09). Canada's Health Care System. Retrieved December 13, 2017, from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-system/canada.html World Health Organization. (n.d.). Canada.

One important issue that plagues the Canadian health system is the affordability of prescription drugs, which arises from the medication not being covered under Canada’s current universal health care system (Parliament of Canada). The prescription drugs are either paid out of pocket, or covered a certain percentage depending on their private insurance or benefits given by their profession. For those who cannot afford the medication it causes a dilemma, choosing to take on a financial burden for the sake of their own treatment and without taking the needed treatment the disease may get worse. Since it is out-of-the-pocket the wealthy can obtain the medication, while the poor are handcuffed to do so, therefore making this a financial and an equity

Prescription drug coverage in Canada is different for every province and has evolved over time , public drug plans fund only 38.3% of the total drug expenditure in Canada in 2012 which included the non-prescribed medicines(8). Every provincial drug plan available includes patient charges .the current patchwork of Canada includes a complex, 46 federal, provincial and territorial prescription drug coverage program (6). It varies in the type and level of coverage provided throughout the country as well as in the must pay out-of-pocket amount as the part of public prescription drug plan.

Canada’s health care system “can be described as a publicly-funded, privately-provided, universal, comprehensive, affordable, single-payer, provincially administered national health care system” (Bernard, 1992, p.103). Health care in Canada is provincial responsibility, with the Canada Health act being a federal legislation (Bernard, 1992, p. 102). Federal budget cuts, has caused various problems within Medicare such as increased waiting times and lack of new technology. Another problem with Medicare is that The Canada Heath Act does not cover expenditures for prescriptions drugs. All these issue has caused individuals to suggest making Medicare privatized. Although, Canada’s health care system consists of shortcomings, our universal

Public support of a national pharmacare plan is growing. According to a 2015 poll, 91% of Canadians support having “Pharmacare” provide universal

The United States spends more money on prescription drugs than any other industrialized country. In 2013, the United States spent $858 per capita compared to the average of $400 for 19 industrialized countries (Kesselheim, Avorn, & Sarpatwari, 2016). Prescription drug costs have significantly increased in recent years: from 2013 to 2015, prescription drug net spending increased to about 20%, which surpassed a forecast of an 11% increase (Kesselheim et al., 2016). Prescription drugs amount to 17% of total health care costs; prescription drug coverage includes 19% of employer-based insurance benefits (Kesselheim et al., 2016).

The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), the national voice of Canadian pharmacists, has publicly acknowledged the importance of a pan-Canadian pharmaceutical strategy. In June 2015, CPhA launched Pharmacare 2.0 – a leading consultation process to cultivate national consensus for a pan-Canadian pharmacare framework. The organization believes that a sustainable and affordable pharmacare model must be based on optimal health outcomes and patient-centred care.[3] More recently, the CPhA has highlighted that pharmacists are not for or against any specific model, but rather committed

The Canada’s health care system is very interesting in the fact that it is government-funded and individuals are provided preventative care, medical treatments, dental surgery and other medical services with few exceptions. All citizens qualify for health coverage regardless of medical history, personal income or their standard of living. Medicare is Canada is a government funded universal health insurance established by legislation passed in 1957, 1966, and 1984. The Canadian healthcare system evolved, rising cost of hospital and medical services led citizens, progressive health professionals and some politicians to argue that healthcare was a social good not another purchasable commodity. This viewpoint was challenged by those who stated that individuals must take responsibility for their own healthcare needs through private, prepaid insurance plans and that the government should underwrite the cost for those who could not afford such benefits.