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A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario's Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program

Author

Listed:
  • Colin Busby

    (C.D. Howe Institute)

  • William B.P. Robson

    (C.D. Howe Institute)

Abstract

With annual spending of about $4.5 billion dollars in 2010, Canada’s largest drug plan – the Ontario Drug Program (ODB) – will become harder to afford as the babyboomers age and workforce growth slows. A business-as-usual approach to funding the plan, which provides publicly funded drug benefits to every Ontario resident aged 65 an older, presents a bleak prospect and amounts to wilfully passing on an exorbitant bill to future generations. Ontario, like all jurisdictions, faces tough challenges at the intersection of fiscal and health policy. Partial prefunding and benefit-payment reform of the ODB would put a key health program on a stronger and more sustainable footing.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin Busby & William B.P. Robson, 2011. "A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario's Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 326, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdh:commen:326
    as

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    File URL: https://www.cdhowe.org/social-insurance-model-pharmacare-ontario%E2%80%99s-options-more-sustainable-cost-effective-drug-program
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    16. John Richards, 2011. "School Dropouts: Who Are They and What Can Be Done?," e-briefs 109, C.D. Howe Institute.
    17. Andrew Green & Michael Trebilcock, 2010. "The Eco-Fee Imbroglio: Lessons from Ontario’s Troubled Experiment in Charging for Waste Management," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 316, December.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Colin Busby & Jonathan Pedde, 2014. "Should Public Drug Plans be Based on Age or Income?," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 417, November.
    2. Ake Blomqvist & Colin Busby, 2014. "Paying for the Boomers: Long-Term Care and Intergenerational Equity," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 415, September.
    3. William Robson & Colin Busby & Aaron Jacobs, 2014. "Healthcare and an Aging Population: Managing Slow-Growing Revenues and Rising Health Spending in British Columbia," e-briefs 195, C.D. Howe Institute.
    4. Benjamin Dachis, 2018. "Fiscal Soundness and Economic Growth: An Economic Program for Ontario," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 505, March.
    5. William Robson & Colin Busby & Aaron Jacobs, 2015. "Managing Healthcare for an Aging Population: Are Demographics a Fiscal Iceberg for Newfoundland and Labrador?," e-briefs 200, C.D. Howe Institute.
    6. William Robson & Colin Busby & Aaron Jacobs, 2014. "Managing Healthcare for an Aging Population: Ontario’s Troubling Collision Course," e-briefs 192, C.D. Howe Institute.
    7. John Richards, 2011. "Aboriginal Education in Quebec: A Benchmarking Exercise," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 328, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    The Health Papers; Ontario Drug Program (ODB); Province of Ontario;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

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