Although Canada's national health care system does not provide outpatient prescription drug coverage, Canadian provincial governments have developed a range of plans that have historically provided generous coverage to seniors. Yet, ongoing spending increases and costsharing requirements are threatening the public drug subsidies. A new study supported by The Commonwealth Fund suggests that the Canadian experience underscores the need for comprehensive management and political will to confront spiraling drug costs.
"Whither Seniors' Pharmacare: Lessons from (and for) Canada," by three researchers from the University of British Columbia, former Harkness Fellow Steven G. Morgan, Morris L. Barer, and Jonathan D. Agnew, was published in the May/June issue of Health Affairs.
