Which provincial pharmacare system works best to protect Canadians against catastrophic drug costs?

Sep 14 2004

Health-care economy researchers at the University of British Columbia have found there is wide variation in coverage for pharmaceuticals in Canada. For example, more than 12 per cent of households in Atlantic Canada would have to pay privately for catastrophic drug costs (defined as costs exceeding 4.5 per cent of annual income.) Programs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, however, leave virtually no household facing catastrophic drug bills.

The study was conducted by Megan Coombes, research associate at UBC and Vancouver Hospital, and Steve Morgan, assistant professor at UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research. Using mathematical simulations, they estimated private and public drug costs for a nationally representative sample of almost 5,000 households that differed in size, age of family members, income, and drug expense levels.

Using this data, they predicted national coverage levels for each of the 10 provincial drug programs to determine which program would work best if standardized throughout Canada.

“If we are to make progress in Canadian pharmacare, all provinces need to limit the share of income households must spend on needed medicines,” says Coombes, the study’s lead author.

“The jury is still out -- researchers have yet to determine what type of coverage would meet all the objectives of a national pharmacare program,” adds Morgan. “Also, it’s important to remember that every health-care dollar spent on prescription drugs, whether it comes from government or the householder, is a dollar not spent on doctors, nurses or other health-care services.”

For more information on the study, visit http://www.longwoods.com/opinions/LR32Coombes.pdf.

http://www.ubc.ca/