A national procurement program for essential medicines could provide a principled, evidence-based solution to the current challenges facing a national pharmacare program in Canada.
Under a pharmacare plan, a single bargaining agent negotiates for lower prices from drug companies.
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Pharmaceutical and insurance industries that could lose profit through lower drug prices are not happy that a pharmacare bill is planned for fall. They are speaking out and mobilizing their allies.
Americans pay far more for prescription drugs compared with people in other high-income countries.
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The drug pricing reform may drastically lower prices for some of the most critical life-saving drugs in the long run. But numerous obstacles stand in the way.
There is presently no end in sight to the drug supply shortage.
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The shortages, which have been going on for years, have typically affected only low-cost generics rather than profitable brand-name drugs.
Canadians pay high drug prices, but the pharmaceutical industry claims it is a ‘key partner in economic resilience, recovery and growth.’
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Canadians pay very high drug costs, but Canada also does not receive the same economic benefits from pharmaceutical industry investments as other countries do.
The pharma industry warned that if proposed new prescription price guidelines go ahead, drug launches would be delayed and ‘Canadian patients will be deprived of potentially life-saving new medicines.’
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The pharma industry claims lower prescription drug prices will mean less access to new medication for Canadians. It’s an old threat that pits profits against patients’ rights to affordable drugs.
Changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board regulations, which are intended to help lower drug costs in Canada, were originally scheduled to take effect in July 2020.
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Changes to Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board regulations have been postponed for a fourth time in two years as Canadians continue to pay some of the highest drug prices in the world.
For people with disabilities, prescription drug costs are often layered on top of other health-related costs.
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Any pharmacare plan that aims to remove financial barriers to treatment and eliminate inequities should prioritize those who face the highest out-of-pocket drug costs, such as people with disabilities.
Indian health workers doing health checks in Mumbai, June 17, 2020.
AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File
Nicole Hassoun, Binghamton University, State University of New York
The high cost of pharmaceuticals often means only the richest patients get lifesaving medicines. As coronavirus drugs emerge, it will require hard, creative work to ensure they’re available to all.
Colombia is the world’s second-biggest cut flower exporter.
AP Photo/Fernando Vergara
Toilet paper shortages were bad enough. A shortage of drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic would be worse. A provision in the Canadian government’s relief package aims to prevent that from happening.
Generic drugs can be a great way to save money, but a recent study shows there are risks involved.
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As drug prices soar, consumers look for cheaper generics. A recent study showed safety issues in some generics made abroad, however, suggesting that the FDA’s honor system may not be enough to ensure safety.
Politicians and even HHS are now discussing ways to allow US consumers to buy drugs from Canada. Here’s why it’s not as simple as it seems.
A man looks at a prescription drug bottle. Many Americans will chronic conditions report rationing their drugs because of cost.
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Presidential candidates and the current president have all talked about ways to lower drug costs, but experts know it is going to take more than politics to change how drugs are priced in the US.
Some biologics can cost up to a million dollars for a year’s worth.
Tero Vesalainen
Biologics, therapies made inside or of living cells, are a growing share of pharmaceutical sales. But the cost of these miracle treatments makes them unaffordable for many. New FDA guidance may help.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, prepares for the Feb. 26, 2019 hearing with CEOs from several U.S. drug makers.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo
As concern grows for the escalating prices of prescription drugs, a novel approach to lower the price of drugs to treat hepatitis C in Louisiana holds promise, a policy expert says.
Policymakers and consumers are well aware of rising pharmaceuticals prices.
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
The Trump administration’s proposal to lower drug prices focuses on discounts. A health policy scholar argues that the US could learn from Europe’s system of measuring drug value and effectiveness.
President Donald Trump releases a ‘blueprint’ to reduce prescription drug prices, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, May 11, 2018.
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The logic behind U.S. president Donald Trump’s proposal that Canada and other countries have been “free-riding” off high prices in the United States is bizarre at best.