Impact of national pharmacare plan studied CMAJ 1997;157:1338 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association A fully-funded, comprehensive and publicly administered national pharmacare program would increase public spending on prescription drugs by about $4.3 billion per year, a study completed for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada has revealed. The study, released at the PMAC's annual meeting this fall, indicated that prescription drugs cost Canadians about $6.8 billion in 1996, with provincial drug plans covering 44% of the cost. "Overall," said the study, "the best opportunity for a national pharmacare program is a combined public/private plan with a 25% copayment, as is the case in Quebec, or a plan in which the patient pays the dispensing fee. In both cases the impact on public and private plans is an increase of less than 10%." The National Forum on Health proposed the introduction of a national plan last February, and the idea is currently being considered by the federal government. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ November 15, 1997 (vol 157, no 10) / JAMC le 15 novembre 1997 (vol 157, no 10) |