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Home » CANADIAN STUDY SEES DRUG PAYMENTS SOARING
CANADIAN STUDY SEES DRUG PAYMENTS SOARING
September 28, 2005
A new survey by Canada's official statistics agency notes that out-of-pocket drug expenditure has soared since the early 1990s. Between 1992 and 2002, household drug spending increased by more than 70%, while overall health expenditure grew by 53%, according to Statistics Canada. Among the 7.8mn households surveyed, the average out-of-pocket spend in 2002 was CAD378, or roughly US$321.
With out-of-pocket expenditure reaching CAD3bn (US$2.55bn) in 2002 and prescription scripts exceeding 300mn in the year, blame for the spending surge has been placed on expensive new drugs and Canada's graying population.
However, the key factor driving differences in spending levels was the province in which residents lived, and the quality of local reimbursement plans. Residents of Ontario spent just CAD257 out of pocket in 2002, mainly due to the high quality of public sector insurance coverage for new drugs. Roughly 62% of Ontario's families were covered in the year by government health plans. However, Saskatchewan had the highest level of co-payments and personal spending, due to the fact that 15% of the province's population are retirees. The province's high number of farm workers without access to payroll insurance was also cited.
In Canada as a whole, senior citizens reported household spending of CAD512 in 2002. However, this is only equivalent to 1.2% of overall household spending, indicating that health insurance generally remains comprehensive in Canada. Notably, only two Canadian provinces require automatic patient co-payments for drugs. However, as the government seeks fresh ways to control its drugs bill, co-payments seem likely to rise further.
KEYWORDS Daily International Pharma Alert
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