Characteristics of persons with multiple sclerosis covered by public drug insurance in a Quebec Birth Cohort.

Objective: People living with multiple sclerosis use medications for several indications, but little is known about their prescription drug use in Quebec, notably because the public drug insurance covers only part of the population. We compared the characteristics of those with public drug insurance to those privately covered. Methods: In a cohort of persons born in 1970-1974, we identified those living with multiple sclerosis by applying a validated algorithm to administrative health data. Individuals with public coverage were those who had at least one covered period after their date of diagnosis between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2014. We used descriptive statistics to compare sociodemographic and healthcare utilization characteristics by type of coverage. Results: Among the 1363 persons living with multiple sclerosis, 720 (53 %) were covered by the public drug insurance. Individuals with public drug coverage were younger, more likely to be materially and socially deprived, and had a lower median income than those with private insurance, but otherwise had similar sociodemographic characteristics. The proportion of people who had at least one multiple sclerosis-related visit to a general practitioner (39 % versus 45 %) and hospitalization (6 % versus 3 %) differed among those with public compared to private coverage. However, the utilization of other health services, including neurologist consultations, did not differ by type of drug coverage. Conclusion: People with multiple sclerosis covered by the public and private drug insurance differed in terms of age, income, deprivation, multiple sclerosis-related visits to a general practitioner and hospitalizations, but not neurologist consultations.