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Thread: Canadians pay some of the highest drug prices in the world.

  1. #1
    Mastermind Lynn49's Avatar
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    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!!
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    Last edited by Lynn49; Fri, Jan 13th, 2017 at 06:41 PM.
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    There was a good piece on CBC Radio's The Current - can listen or read story here

    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/t...care-1.3932639

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    My point exactly......more BS and fear mongering about the scary outcome of a plan that is successful in ALL OTHER COUNTRIES that have a national drug plan.


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    our Dr. does the same for certain meds, NO generic written right on the page.
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    babies teach us acceptance

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    Quote Originally Posted by walkonby View Post
    our Dr. does the same for certain meds, NO generic written right on the page.
    Our doctors sure do love us....
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lynn49 View Post
    My point exactly......more BS and fear mongering about the scary outcome of a plan that is successful in ALL OTHER COUNTRIES that have a national drug plan.
    yes
    example this summer with the Epi-pen
    Cdn price $100
    US price $500
    identical product
    https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...r-epipens.html



    Friends from US always buy prescribed brand of insulin at Costco Canada when visiting
    insulin- Canada $64
    insulin-US $100
    identical product
    Last edited by Shwa Girl; Sat, Jan 14th, 2017 at 06:33 PM.
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    Mastermind Natalka's Avatar
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    Newer article here Shwa Girl - now can get alternative to epipen in US for $55 each

    http://www.sciencealert.com/a-super-...lves-in-the-us

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    Another one on the drug prices today:

    Health minister vows to save Canadians 'billions' on drug prices
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/health...ices-1.3932254


    It is interesting that in NZ they have a scheme where any NZer can pay $5 for any drug prescription. The catch is...they are slow to approve new drugs for funding and I suppose people with weird expensive rare drug needs might not get funded at all.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Natalka View Post
    Newer article here Shwa Girl - now can get alternative to epipen in US for $55 each

    http://www.sciencealert.com/a-super-...lves-in-the-us
    Operative word here: "generic"....wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Epi pens are vital to someone's survival, and I wouldn't play with anyone's emergency with a generic brand. Our DD buys them for our Grandson and yes, they are expensive and do have to be renewed...I don't know how long, but although he's never had to use it, they still bring them back and purchase new ones...name-brand ones.
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    Sometimes there is a tangible difference between name brand, e.g., I used to have to take this bitter uncoated generic pill and it was all I could do to swallow it before it touched my tongue...the name-brand pills were coated so I had to upgrade because the other rotten ones were making me gag. Some extended release stuff isn't available generic, either. But otherwise, I am happy with generic.

    Some drugs like Lipitor have free programs where the drugmaker will pay the pharmacist to upgrade you from generic to name brand.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lecale View Post
    Sometimes there is a tangible difference between name brand, e.g., I used to have to take this bitter uncoated generic pill and it was all I could do to swallow it before it touched my tongue...the name-brand pills were coated so I had to upgrade because the other rotten ones were making me gag. Some extended release stuff isn't available generic, either. But otherwise, I am happy with generic.

    Some drugs like Lipitor have free programs where the drugmaker will pay the pharmacist to upgrade you from generic to name brand.
    @lecale , I was shocked that generic brands have a wide range of leway wrt how much of the real medication it can contain! No less than 80%, and no more than 20%! That's a pretty wide range! To top it off, any fillers they use can inhibit the efficiency of the medication's absorption rate, so one really doesn't know WHAT we're taking! It's downright frightening, particularly with regard to live-saving drugs. We've been handed a bill of goods wrt generic drugs and I wouldn't touch them if the particular drug was important to me. Just fyi....


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    Quote Originally Posted by lecale View Post
    Another one on the drug prices today:

    Health minister vows to save Canadians 'billions' on drug prices
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/health...ices-1.3932254


    It is interesting that in NZ they have a scheme where any NZer can pay $5 for any drug prescription. The catch is...they are slow to approve new drugs for funding and I suppose people with weird expensive rare drug needs might not get funded at all.
    We used to have that in SK - not sure when it changed, but I remember being in my mid-20s and paying a flat $4 per prescription - and at the time I was using some very pricey meds.
    Last edited by Natalka; Sat, Jan 14th, 2017 at 11:05 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lynn49 View Post
    @lecale , I was shocked that generic brands have a wide range of leway wrt how much of the real medication it can contain! No less than 80%, and no more than 20%! That's a pretty wide range! To top it off, any fillers they use can inhibit the efficiency of the medication's absorption rate, so one really doesn't know WHAT we're taking! It's downright frightening, particularly with regard to live-saving drugs. We've been handed a bill of goods wrt generic drugs and I wouldn't touch them if the particular drug was important to me. Just fyi....
    Oh, Lynn, you need to look up some CDN sites - there IS a difference between Canada and the US and how generics are handled.

    http://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/Libraries/M...INAL.sflb.ashx

    https://www.cadth.ca/generic-drugs/s...-generic-drugs

    http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv...ed-gen-eng.php

    http://medsask.usask.ca/documents/ho...c_vs_brand.pdf

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    I agree that Canadian generics are very high quality and safe.

    I pried into D's affairs and found somehow he was paying $12.99 for 90 ASA (Aspirin) 81mg every three months by prescription from the pharmacy. At Walmart, you can get a bottle of 500 generic ASA for $16.97, and it will save him $60+ over going through the pharmacy for that much. ASA is a pretty old drug; I am sure every company has figured out how to make it with high quality on the cheap. In case like this, I don't worry for a sec.

    I think with the Epipen - what you are paying the big bucks for is the tested design (both graphical (clear instructions) and physical (idiotproofed)) not the medicine in it. For the ASA, it is a pretty blue coating. And so on. Is it worth $60 to have your Aspirin blue? Not for us.
    Natalka likes this.

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