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Watching the TV news today, I was surprised to find that we are the only single-payer/UHC country that did not have low (i.e. a $5 co-pay) or no-cost pharmacare. I applaud the efforts made by the current government to make national pharmacare a fact, and I hope that their Conservative opponents say, "Yeah we'll do that too!" Levels the playing ground going into the election.
Now, would it apply to pets? I remember paying $90 for my cat's insulin every three months. Probably not, but I'm glad that national pharmacare has entered into our discourse.
Now, we need vision too. That typo I made the other day about "fiends and family" told me that I should be wearing my glasses when I post here.
Mouldy, why did you think drugs were cheap in Canada? Where did you get that idea from? Did somebody tell you that?
Drugs aren't cheaper, I think it's just that many of them are not as restricted in Canada and are easier to get prescriptions for or they're easier to buy over the counter or off the shelf without prescriptions. Like certain types of products with codeine in them, just for one example. But cheap? - no way!
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Many drugs etc are cheaper in Canada, when compared to the US.
Insulin, Epipens, and on and on.
That is why some states, like Florida, talk about buying cheaper drugs in Canada for use in the US.
As other have already mention Canadian drug prices are on average significantly lower than those in the United States. Of course, that isn't saying much, because the Americans pay just about the highest prices of anyone in the world. Canada does pay relatively high prices for drugs (and other healthcare btw) when compared to other OECD countries.
One of the organisms that leads to lower prices in Canada compared to the US is the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) which, to oversimplify, does things like say "hey company wanting to sell your new drug in Canada, you can't charge Canadians more than the average you're charging citizens in these 16 other OECD countries". It similarly forbids obvious or excessive price gouging. It really is preventing the edge cases while allowing companies quite alot of freedom to charge what they like, so it isn't preventing us paying more than our peers, but does stop some of the more egregious examples of exploitative drug pricing from happening.
Another force is collective bargaining from provincial insurers. This lowers generic drug prices, but the fact that the provinces are mostly acting in silos reduces the effectiveness of the collective bargaining, once again leading to lower prices than the US, but higher prices than peers overseas in other developed economies.
A third factor in relatively high prices is, well, being a small market spread out over a huge geography. This effects Canadian prices in lots of domains, not just drugs.
I know that's not a fully complete answer. Without doxxing myself, I'll say that I'm a pharmacist registered in BC and QC who works in clinical research, and my wife's in public health, so if you have follow-up questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
Mouldy, why did you think drugs were cheap in Canada? Where did you get that idea from? Did somebody tell you that?
Drugs aren't cheaper, I think it's just that many of them are not as restricted in Canada and are easier to get prescriptions for or they're easier to buy over the counter or off the shelf without prescriptions. Like certain types of products with codeine in them, just for one example. But cheap? - no way!
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Because busloads of diabetics from the US have been going to Canada for affordable insulin, and because there are websites based in Canada, that market drugs to Americans, at much more affordable prices. It may only be certain drugs that are cheaper.
A family member spends an average of $500 every 3 months on prescription drugs. It won't break the bank for now, but it can be worrisome should his condition worsens requiring more treatments.
excerpt: "$1,200 for drugs that would have cost them $12,000 in the U.S."
I feel for them...and they kind of won me over by making this not only an insulin run, but to also protest against insane drug costs. Going to London, Ontario where Banting worked, is brilliant.
Note to Canadians and other developed countries with a national single-payer healthcare system: Lots of corporate propaganda is published by PR departments of the for-profit healthcare industries, namely pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and health insurance companies that create scare tactics or distortions of fact to Americans. They will demean, slander, etc. your countries and health care systems to keep their dominance in America!
I've heard that people are "dying from rationing in Canada", "poor medical care in the U.K.", "high prices in Australia/New Zealand", and "lack of availability in Europe". If my NHS nurse aunt heard that she was incompetent by the U.S. propaganda, she would be outraged!
Note to Canadians and other developed countries with a national single-payer healthcare system: Lots of corporate propaganda is published by PR departments of the for-profit healthcare industries, namely pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and health insurance companies that create scare tactics or distortions of fact to Americans. They will demean, slander, etc. your countries and health care systems to keep their dominance in America!
I've heard that people are "dying from rationing in Canada", "poor medical care in the U.K.", "high prices in Australia/New Zealand", and "lack of availability in Europe". If my NHS nurse aunt heard that she was incompetent by the U.S. propaganda, she would be outraged!
Oh, we're well aware of that. We see it all the time, here and elsewhere.
I find it odd, though, that the Americans who believe American sources on the topic of Canadian healthcare (no matter how incorrect or outlandish those sources' claims are); refuse to believe the Canadians who have direct experience with their own healthcare system. We have to laugh when we're told, by Americans, that we're dropping like flies due to long wait times; that we have to wait six months or longer simply to be assigned a physician (note that you choose you own physician here; you are not assigned one); or that certain medical treatments, such as brain surgery or some cancer treatments, are unavailable here. And let's not forget some Americans' claims that many, many Canadians are flocking to the US, dollars in hand, just to access the healthcare that they are denied at home, because their government says that they cannot have it. "Death panels," you know.
We Canadians know very well that these claims, and the stuff that comes out of the backside of a bull, are similar. We do try to counter these claims--after all, we have direct experience with our healthcare system and can report the truth--but after a while, it becomes like bashing your head against a wall: it feels so good when you stop. But after a while, we go back to bashing our heads against the wall, since, eventually, somebody might believe us. In other words, lather, rinse, repeat.
Last edited by ChevySpoons; 06-21-2019 at 12:15 AM..
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