ArticleCMAJ open2017
Comparison of Canadian public medication insurance plans and the impact on out-of-pocket costs.
Article in CMAJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exploring patient and pharmacist perspectives on complex interventions for cardiovascular prevention: A qualitative descriptive process evaluation.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2020Trial
- Antiretroviral utilization and adherence before vs. after expansion of a provincial drug insurance policy.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Article
- International patented medicine prices: how does Canada compare to the OECD? A descriptive analysis of list prices.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Consequences of Canada's Drug Agency Reimbursement Recommendations for New Medicines and Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance Price Negotiations on Patient Access.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2025Article
- Access to Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Americas: A Call for Action. A Joint Perspective from the Brazilian Thoracic Society, Canadian Thoracic Society, Latin American Thoracic Society, and the American Thoracic Society.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2024Article
- Health Canada advisory impacts on the prevalence of oral codeine use in the Pediatric Canadian population: comparative study across provinces.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Relationship Between Diet Quality and Statin Use Among Adults With Metabolic Syndrome From the CARTaGENE Cohort.CJC open · 2024Article
- The diabetes health plan and medication adherence among individuals with low incomes.Health services research · 2022Article
- Variation in Patient-Described Barriers to and Facilitators of Diabetes Management by Individual-Level Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional, Open-Ended Survey.Clinical diabetes : a publication of the American Diabetes Association · 2022Article
- Article
- The human right to essential medicines applies to Canadians.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2021Article
- Patient-provider communication about medication cost in rheumatoid arthritis.Clinical rheumatology · 2021Article
- Barriers and Facilitators to Using Statins: A Qualitative Study With Patients and Family Physicians.CJC open · 2020Article
- Resident-Level Predictors of Dementia Pharmacotherapy at Long-Term Care Admission: The Impact of Different Drug Reimbursement Policies in Ontario and Saskatchewan: Prédicteurs de la pharmacothérapie de la démence au niveau des résidents lors de l'hospitalisation dans des soins de longue durée : l'impact de différentes politiques de remboursement des médicaments en Ontario et en Saskatchewan.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2020Article
- Pharmacist and patient perspectives on recruitment strategies for randomized controlled trials: a qualitative analysis.BMC medical research methodology · 2020Article
- Prescription medication cost, insurance coverage, and cost-related nonadherence among people with spinal cord injury in Canada.Spinal cord · 2020Observational
- Impact of brand drug discount cards on private insurer, government and patient expenditures.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2019Article
- The impact of pharmaceutical rebates on patients' drug expenditures.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2019Article
- Drug coverage in Canada: gaps and opportunities.Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN · 2018Article
- Correction: Comparison of Canadian public medication insurance plans and the impact on out-of-pocket costs.CMAJ open · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch from 2006 documented substantial variation in medication coverage for residents across Canada. Since then, some provinces have implemented major medication plan reforms. We aimed to update the information on publicly funded medication insurance plans available across Canada and to compare out-of-pocket costs across the country.
methodsWe compared provincial medication insurance plans using data from public websites and other public source documents. Using 2 hypothetical clinical examples, we determined the amount and type of a patient's out-of-pocket costs for 5 different patient subtypes that varied based on medication burden, age and income.
resultsEach province offers a plan to all residents. Cost-sharing is employed across all provinces. Some residents must pay a premium to receive insurance or must pay 100% of their medication costs until they reach a deductible amount, above which government funding covers a portion of medication costs. With the scenario of low medication burden (medication cost about $500), out-of-pocket costs ranged from $250 to $2100 for higher-income residents and from $0 to $700 for lower-income residents. With the scenario of high medication burden (medication cost about $1800), the corresponding ranges were $250-$2500 and $0-$1100. The variation was due to province of residence, age and income.
interpretationVariations in out-of-pocket payments continue to exist across the provinces, with some groups facing high expenses. Further work is required to understand the impact of different cost-sharing mechanisms, develop policies to limit out-of-pocket expenses and improve provincial drug plans.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.