Canadians pay some of the highest drug prices in the world.
Canadians forced to pay some of the highest drug prices in the world could save billions through changes promised by Health Minister Jane Philpott in an exclusive interview with the fifth estate.
An analysis by the fifth estate shows that Canadians, for example, pay far more than people in New Zealand for drugs produced by the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company.
For every dollar Canadians spend on seven popular drugs sold by Apotex in both countries, Kiwis spend just 11.5 cents.
And overall, according to several studies, Canadians pay the second-highest drug prices in the world, after only people living in the United States.
(for example)
Amlodipine is a popular blood pressure treatment made by the Canadian company and sold in both Canada and New Zealand. The annual cost in Canada is $130. In New Zealand, the same drug costs about $10 a year, meaning Canadians pay 1,200 per cent more.
A one-year supply of the generic antibiotic Amoxicillin made by Apotex sells for about $32 in New Zealand. In Canada, the same annual supply is nearly $200 — or more than 500 per cent more.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/health...ices-1.3932254
But here's what blows it for me!!
From the FifthEstate's site and an interview I saw on tv this afternoon:
Canada wasted $15 billion over the last five years on highly priced prescription drugs, in part because of questionable drug company sales tactics, according to exclusive research and a hidden camera investigation by the fifth estate.
John Herbert, a director for Express Scripts Canada, says money can be saved by Canadians and their employers choosing to take advantage of 'lower-cost, clinically effective medications.' (Express Scripts Canada )
The research conducted for the fifth estate by health benefits company Express Scripts Canada shows employer-funded private insurance plans in Canada wasted more than $3 billion per year between 2011 and 2015 by covering the cost of expensive drugs that have cheaper options, as well as paying for unnecessary dispensing fees.
Perhaps John doesn't REALIZE that it's permissable for generic drugs to contain only 80% of the effective ingredient that's in the "expensive" drug, and they can also contain questionable ingredients
that can also reduce the effectiveness of the DRUG!
A generic's maximum concentration of active ingredient in the blood must not fall more than 20% below or 25% above that of the brand name. This means a potential range of 45%, by that measure, among generics labeled as being the same.
http://fortune.com/2013/01/10/are-generics-really-the-same-as-branded-drugs/
(this also holds true for Canada, btw)
Our doctor has notes on our prescriptions that state "no genetic drugs" for good reason!!
Perhaps it's time John looks towards the pharmaceutical companies and their gouging, their high salaried CEOs, and the government's dealings with those companies which give Canadians far HIGHER prices for those medications!!
