Pharma Care System: A Case Study

Canada 's healthcare system is praised globally for its universal and free healthcare. It started to take shape after World War II in 1945. Health insurance was introduced and was attempted, but was not successful even though there was an increase in the spending of health related services and goods. Fast forward a few years to 1961 where Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan, developed the idea for an all-inclusive insurance plan. He later inspired the Medical Care Act in Canada in 1967, when he pointed out health care is a right for all Canadians. From this one thought, Canada has become of the many countries with a universal health care system. Ever since Tommy Douglas sparked the idea for health care coverage, Canada is praised for the way it carries out its system because of several key features. This system is publically funded, is universal and is accessible to everyone across the nation. Because this is a public system, funding comes from the tax payers and some federal funding, so there is no extra cost for the patients. Also, being a universal system it has offered care to all Canadians, immigrants and visitors. Unlike the U.S who does not provide healthcare to its entire population because it is a private system; access depends on how much someone could afford, and how

In Canada the services, medication and hospital fee are controlled by the government, this created a better outcome for the security of the citizen. This regulation can lead to major saving in term of the GDP per capita paid by the government in this regard. The government negotiates drug prices so by doing that prices are more affordable for the people. It’s not necessary the uses of co-pays and deductible, but if any type of charged for any reason this can still be a dissent price by the patient. As result of this Canadian are proud and feel secured by the contribution of the social

Canada’s system is another great example of the affordability of UHC. According to the World Health Organization, check-ups, medications and surgeries are thirty to sixty percent cheaper in Canada than in the U.S. (Merino 132). Why? Well, Diane Francis, author of the National Post article “LBJ Invented Canada’s Superior Health System”, offers one explanation. Francis argues that in Canada drugs are cheaper because Canadian provinces buy the drugs in bulk through a centralized system, unlike the U.S., which makes the government programs Medicare and Medicaid buy from different sources (Merino 132). Because of the monopoly the Canadian government has on the pharmaceutical industry, the price of drugs can be manipulated by the government, making

In Canada, drug spending is considered to be the second largest spending category of healthcare ("Protecting Canadians from Excessive Drug Prices", 2017). Ever since Medicare was established in Canada, health expensive has increased to about 16% ("Protecting Canadians from Excessive Drug Prices", 2017). Canada is found to pay way more on prescription drugs than compared to other developed countries ("Protecting Canadians from Excessive Drug Prices", 2017). Not only does the high expense affect the consumer, but it also limits the access to creating new medicines as well as having less resource in other areas in the healthcare field ("Protecting Canadians from Excessive Drug Prices", 2017). As of January 2016, the provincial, federal, and territorial ministers have planned to work together in order to improve the accessibility, affordability, and

Prescription drug coverage in Canada is different for every province and has evolved over time , public drug plans fund only 38.3% of the total drug expenditure in Canada in 2012 which included the non-prescribed medicines(8). Every provincial drug plan available includes patient charges .the current patchwork of Canada includes a complex, 46 federal, provincial and territorial prescription drug coverage program (6). It varies in the type and level of coverage provided throughout the country as well as in the must pay out-of-pocket amount as the part of public prescription drug plan.

Canada’s health care system “can be described as a publicly-funded, privately-provided, universal, comprehensive, affordable, single-payer, provincially administered national health care system” (Bernard, 1992, p.103). Health care in Canada is provincial responsibility, with the Canada Health act being a federal legislation (Bernard, 1992, p. 102). Federal budget cuts, has caused various problems within Medicare such as increased waiting times and lack of new technology. Another problem with Medicare is that The Canada Heath Act does not cover expenditures for prescriptions drugs. All these issue has caused individuals to suggest making Medicare privatized. Although, Canada’s health care system consists of shortcomings, our universal

According to an overview of Canadian poll surveying public opinion on their universal health care system, 88% of Canadians reported their value for a strong, national, and publically funded health system (Mendelsohn, 2002). Canada is one of the four nations that provide their populations with access to medical services through their universal health care system of 1984 (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2008). The Canadian health care system is unique in that it prohibits the private health insurance coverage for the fundamental services that are provided by the Canada Health Act; private insurance can be used as a supplement for services that are either partially covered or not covered under the universal health insurance (Steinbrook, 2006). Conversely, in the American health care system there isn’t a universal health coverage for the nation, but rather four different means of paying for health care which includes patient paying out of pocket for individual payments, individual private insurance, employment-based health insurance, and governmental supporting funding (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2008).

The distinction of Canada’s healthcare system is it is publicly funded but privately delivered, where as the United States’s healthcare system is privately funded and privately delivered. This means every Canadian has the privilege to seek medical help outside of pocket. Although not all services are free such as drug prescription, doctor specialists, eye and dental exams, Canada’s health policy is absolutely better than of the United States. Based on the research, the US spends more on health

In the first Hall Royal Commission, Pharmacare is outlined as recommend in joining the covered benefits for Canadian citizens - Canadians pays slightly less than their U.S. counterparts for Pharmaceuticals (Armstrong, p51). Privatization influences an unequal system - creating significant hindrances for impoverished people in Canada, again creating a rich-poor divide that does not influence equality, which is the essence of the Canadian Health Act. As pointed out in The Canadian Regime, “In European Countries, drugs are covered by public insurance schemes. Why not do the same in Canada?” (Malcolmson, p226). Further, Malcolmson describes the possibility for the government to generate a type of bulk buying scheme - where we as a country can

My ideal healthcare in Canada would be about shorter wait times in the emergency department, and National Pharmacare for prescription drugs for all Canadians. The universal healthcare system does not includes universal coverage of prescription drugs (Morgan et al., 2017). According to one study, one in four Canadians can not afford their prescription medications (Mulholland, 2012). Researchers also found that many Canadians do not fill their prescriptions due to cost and the fact that do not have insurance to cover the cost of medications (Mulholland, 2012). When patient do not fill their prescription, they keep going to the emergency department with same problems and which cost a lot more than free medications (Stanbrook, 2015). Universal

In this paper, the USA healthcare system is being compared to the Canadian healthcare system. The U.S. health system has been described as the most competitive, heterogeneous, and inefficient, fragmented, and advanced system of care in the

Pharmaceutical spending in Canada has inclined rapidly over the years. Prescriptions drug spending in Canada has been inclined by several different factors. These factors have contributed to expenditure by the growth of the population, price effects volume effects and much more. The cost of drugs has affected the drug expenditures in Canada in several different ways. Some of the factors are international pricing, inflation, retail and wholesale markups. Introducing new products to the market has increased the drug expenditure while the generic brands have decreased. Furthermore, changes in price controls or extending patent legislation has prevented a less expensive alternative from coming to the market. Changes in policies like regulations,

For the help with the rising cost of medication the FDA should allow Americans to buy their medication from Canada, where the cost is about half of the U.S. cost.

Canada is the only country in the world with a universal healthcare system that does not include prescription medication. Drug coverage is provided by a patchwork of private, provincial and federal plans. Eligibility for public drug plans varies by province and can be based on age (Ontario), income (British Columbia), and employment (Quebec) status.

While looking forward, as the population is aging there is added pressure in the pharma-care program. When Canada makes reforms in their system of control for drug expenditures might become a next step as well. Currently in Canada all provinces and territories have different public drug benefits plans made available to them. Alberta has different prescription drug programs such as non-group coverage (which requires a premium to be paid), coverage for seniors who are 65 or over in age, palliative coverage and diabetic supply coverage (Alberta Health, 2017). Manitoba’s pharma-care program is based on the total family income and the amount you pay for eligible prescription drugs and later you are paid the annual premium which is the