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News Release
Ontario Should Consider
B.C.'s Cost-Saving Drug Plan
July 5, 1995
The MRG issued the following media release on July 5:
The multinational pharmaceutical industry, defending its commercial
interests, is attacking a British Columbia plan to save taxpayers
money on prescription drugs. When there is more than one therapeutically
equivalent drug available, the British Columbia plan, as reported
in the Globe and Mail, July 5, 1995, would pay only for the
lowest-priced of these therapeutically equivalent drugs.
Under the B.C. proposal, called reference-based pricing, if a doctor
prescribed a more expensive drug, there would be two options. First,
the doctor could justify the need for the more expensive drug, in
which case the government would reimburse the cost. If the doctor
could not justify her drug choice, the government would pay only
for the cheaper effective alternative. Similar plans have been used
in other constituencies, including Germany.
Many new expensive drugs offer no advantages over existing, less
expensive alternatives. The pharmaceutical industry, through sophisticated
advertising, is often successful in persuading physicians to prescribe
such drugs. The result is needless cost to patients, with no benefit.
Pharmaceutical industry advertising is often misleading, and always
slanted in favour of the industry. Doctors often do not have the
time nor the expertise to distinguish between accurate and misleading
claims. Industry efforts contribute toward physicians' suboptimal
drug prescribing which has been documented in many studies.
As reported in the Globe and Mail, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers'
Association of Canada, representing the multinational pharmaceutical
industry, has been running a series of full-page newspaper adds
warning against the proposed plan. The plan will, in fact, provide
needed savings in a health care system that is threatened by government
spending cutbacks. The Medical Reform Group endorses the B.C. plan,
and warns the public not to be misled by the partisan and heavily
financed reaction by the industry.
Subject Headings: Abortion
Rights – Community
Health – Community
Health Centres – Drug
Substitution – Epidemiology
– Epidemiology/Community
Medicine – Health
Administration – Health
Care Budgets – Health
Care Cost Containment – Health
Care Costs – Health
Care Delivery – Health
Care Finance & Fund-Raising – Health
Care in Canada – Health
Care in Ontario – Health
Care in the U.K. – Health
Care in the U.S. – Health
Care Myths – Health
Care Reform – Health
Care Resources – Health
Care Services – Health
Care Workers – Health
Clinics – Health
Determinants – Health
Economics – Health
Expenditures – Health
Issues – Health
Policy – Health
Policy/Seniors – Health
Service Organizations – Health/Social
Justice Issues – Health
Statistics – Health/Strategic
Planning – History
– Hospitals
– Labour
Medicine – Medical
Associations – Medical
Costs/Foreign – Medical
Education – Medical
Ethics – Medical
Human Resources – Medical
Personnel – Medical
Research Funding – Medicare
– Medication
Use – Medication
Use/Seniors – NAFTA/Health
– Occupational
Health & Safety – Patients'
Rights – Pharmaceuticals
– Physician
Compensation – Physician
Human Resources – Pro-Choice
Issues – Public
Health – Publications/Health
– Social
Policy – Women's
Health
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