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Beneficiary Cost Sharing Under Canadian Provincial Prescription Drug Benefit Programs: History and Assessment

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  • P Grootendorst

Abstract

Federal legislation outlined in the Medical Care Act of 1965 and the Canada Health Act of 1984 stipulates that Canadian provincial governments are to administer insurance programs for medically necessary services provided by hospitals and physicians. The legislation did not mandate provincial government coverage for prescription drugs taken outside of the hospital. Each province has, however, provided coverage to seniors and social assistance recipients; some have introduced drug coverage for the general public. This paper reviews the history of the provincial drug insurance programs for these 3 beneficiary groups, from the inception dates of the programs to August 31, 1999. Attention is given to the terms and conditions for coverage, including eligibility conditions and amounts of beneficiary cost sharing. Review of the history of the provincial drug programs reveals significant variation in the amounts of patient cost sharing between and within programs and over time. In addition, there is a trend in most provinces to increase the generosity of coverage for those with large drug expenses relative to income, irrespective of beneficiary age. Some implications of these findings for proposals to extend public prescription drug coverage are drawn.

Suggested Citation

  • P Grootendorst, 1999. "Beneficiary Cost Sharing Under Canadian Provincial Prescription Drug Benefit Programs: History and Assessment," Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis Working Paper Series 1999-10, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
  • Handle: RePEc:hpa:wpaper:199910
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    File URL: http://www.chepa.org/Files/Working%20Papers/99-10.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Allin, Sara & Law, Michael R. & Laporte, Audrey, 2013. "How does complementary private prescription drug insurance coverage affect seniors’ use of publicly funded medications?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 147-155.
    2. Crown William H. & Berndt Ernst R. & Baser Onur & Finkelstein Stan N. & Witt Whitney P. & Maguire Jonathan & Haver Kenan E., 2004. "Benefit Plan Design and Prescription Drug Utilization Among Asthmatics: Do Patient Copayments Matter?," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-35, January.
    3. Alan, Sule & Crossley, Thomas F. & Grootendorst, Paul & Veall, Michael R., 2002. "The effects of drug subsidies on out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditures by seniors: regional evidence from Canada," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 805-826, September.
    4. Sule Alan & Thomas F. Crossley & Paul Grootendorst & Michael R. Veall, 2002. "Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Expenditures and Public Prescription Drug Programs," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 88, McMaster University.
    5. Bhardwaj, Ramesh, 2015. "Restraining High and Rising Cancer Drug Prices: Need for Accelerating R&D Productivity and Aligning Prices with Value," MPRA Paper 63405, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Paul Grootendorst & Mitchell Levine, 2002. "Do Drug Plans Matter? Effects of Drug Plan Eligibility on Drug Use Among the Elderly, Social Assistance Recipients and the General Population," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 372, McMaster University.
    7. Hai Zhong, 2007. "Equity in Pharmaceutical Utilization in Ontario: A Cross-Section and Over Time Analysis," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 33(4), pages 487-508, December.
    8. Paul V. Grootendorst & Michael R. Veall, 2005. "National Catastrophic Drug Insurance Revisited: Who Would Benefit from Senator Kirby's Recommendations?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 31(4), pages 341-358, December.

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