Some key findings from the report include:
- From Health Canada approval to a medicine’s reimbursement by a provincial drug plan takes over a year – about 462 days on average, across public provincial plans comprising 80% of the national public plan population.
- In 2014, only 23% of 141 Health Canada-approved new medicines were included in public plans, ranking Canada 17 out of 18, compared to other OECD countries.
- In Canada, 29% of cancer medicines were covered in public drug plans across provinces comprising at least 80% of the eligible national public drug plan population, ranking Canada in 16th place of 18 countries.
- Canadian public drug plans placed reimbursement conditions on 90% of new medicines when measured across provinces comprising 80% of the eligible national public drug plan population.
- In Canada, 20% of new biologic medicines were reimbursed in public drug plans across provinces comprising at least 80% of the eligible national public drug plan population, putting Canada in 17th place of 18 countries.
Click to view the news release and report.