Authors: Mark Rovere (Ph.D. candidate), Brett J Skinner (Ph.D.)
This study compares the quality of coverage for new drugs under public versus private drug plans in Canada. The focus of this study is important because there are proposals currently being advanced to replace private drug plans in Canada with a government-run monopoly public drug plan known as Pharmacare. Canadians might be surprised to find out how much better and faster coverage is under private drug plans compared to public drug plans. This report provides hard evidence from Canadian experience that pluralistic private competition among drug insurance plans and providers is good for patient choice and that a government-run Pharmacare monopoly will reduce access to new medicines.
