Over the past four years, total drug costs adjudicated by HBM+ have risen from about $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, while the number of claimants has increased from 1.7 million to more than two million. The inaugural drug trends and strategic insights report by the health benefits manager, a division of Green Shield Canada, examined drug […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is recommending the federal government develop a strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases, potentially by harmonizing catastrophic drug coverage across the country. In its August federal budget submission to the standing committee on finance, the association noted specialty drugs, including those for chronic and rare disease, made up just two […]
The Federal Court has upheld reforms to the Patented Medicines Pricing Review Board that updated the board’s reference countries for drug pricing and required it to review three new economic factors when determining whether patented medicines are excessively priced. The court ruled against an argument by Innovative Medicines Canada and 16 pharmaceutical companies in their […]
While 67 per cent of Canadian plan members described their level of knowledge about a possible national pharmacare program as low or medium, 27 per cent said they don’t know anything at all about it, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Among plan sponsor respondents, 73 per cent described their level of knowledge […]
As reported earlier this month, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board has published a new draft of its guidelines and launched a 30-day written consultation period. While the law and regulations have already been passed, the implementation has been delayed from July 1, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021. The new draft guidelines are in response […]
On May 12, Benefits Canada hosted a webinar to discuss the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts during the coronavirus crisis, as well as some key policy issues for Canadian insurers and their potential impact from the private-payer perspective. Since the end of April, 139 coronavirus treatments have been under investigation and Health Canada has approved several clinical trials […]
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will publish a new draft of its guidelines on June 15, followed by a written consultation period for 30 days. As a result, the amended regulations will be delayed from July 1, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021. The PMPRB said more details on the next and final phase of […]
Private drug plans saw a slight uptick in costs in 2019 due to the increased use of specialty drugs and higher price points for traditional medications, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report found private drug plan spending per claimant increased one per cent over 2018’s figures. Plans’ annual spend per claimant on […]
When it comes to benefits plan management, each case is individual, said Diana Godfrey, senior vice-president of human resources and corporate at Fidelity Canada, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2020 Employers Cancer Care Summit on Mar. 3. “If employers think they have a program or policy that covers every situation, they may be mistaken.” […]
Taking a look at private drug plans in 2020, a number of trends are converging: spending on specialty drugs is continuing its upward trajectory, advancements in a number of lifechanging therapies are in the pipeline and policy developments are coming at both the federal and provincial levels. In the face of this potential storm, plan […]