With the federal election about a month away, Canada’s political parties are rolling out their election platforms, making a host of promises to improve health care, employment insurance, the minimum wage and pension legislation. If elected, the Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party and Green Party of Canada are all promising to implement a national pharmacare program. […]
The cost of employer-provided health benefits in Canada is forecasted to rise six per cent in 2020, outpacing general inflation by 1.9 per cent, according to a 2020 trend rates report by Aon. The increase is due to higher costs from the rising spend on drugs in general, noted a press release. Globally, costs for employer-sponsored medical plans in 2020 are expected to increase […]
As plan sponsors continue to look for ways to control drug plan spending, a new study from the University of British Columbia shows that switching from an open to a closed formulary can save big dollars. The study, published this month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal Open, analyzed what happened when the B.C. Hospital […]
Quebec’s universal pharmacare program offers better drug coverage and quicker approval for new drugs coming to market than the rest of Canada, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. Looking at drugs approved by Health Canada between 2008 and 2017, the report found Quebec went on to cover 33.4 per cent of them, […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is recommending that any future national pharmacare system includes an actuary to oversee its revenue, expenses and funding status. “Canada’s actuaries — with public interest in mind — advise that any national pharmacare program should be based on sound risk management, financing and insurance principles,” noted the CIA in a press release. The […]
Industry groups had mixed feelings about an expert panel’s report calling for a single-payer pharmacare plan. Released on Wednesday by Eric Hoskins, former Ontario health minister, the report recommended Canada and the provinces work together to create a unified program that addresses the country’s patchwork of prescription drug plans. Provinces and territories, the panel said, […]
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 […]