Stitching the gaps in the Canadian public drug coverage patchwork?: a review of provincial pharmacare policy changes from 2000 to 2010.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To describe recent changes and identify emergent trends in public drug benefit policies in Canada from 2000 to 2010.

Methods

For each province, we tracked pharmacare design (namely eligibility, premiums, and patient cost-sharing) over time for three beneficiary groups: social assistance recipients, seniors, and the general non-senior population. We assess which plan designs are emerging as a national standard, where the gaps in public coverage remain, and implications for progress towards national pharmacare.

Results

Expansion of public drug coverage has been limited. For social assistance recipients, first-dollar coverage is the standard. Seniors coverage remains varied, though means testing of eligibility or cost-sharing is common. Seniors benefits were s

SUBMITTER: Daw JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3424261 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature