I am going to read a little quote here, again, from “Pharmacare 2020“. It says:
In terms of drug prices, Canada’s multi-payer system is among the most expensive systems in the world, because it diminishes our purchasing power. The prices of generic drugs in Canada are nearly double (79% higher than) the median of prices found in other OECD countries and more than four times (445%) higher than the best available prices in the OECD. Similarly, the prices of brand-name drugs in Canada are 30% higher than in comparable countries like the United Kingdom.
The source for all those numbers is Ms. Potashnik's group, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. It says:
Take the blockbuster drug Lipitor, for example. A year’s supply of the brand-name drug in Canada costs at least $811; in New Zealand, where a public authority negotiates prices on behalf of the entire country, a year’s supply of the brand costs just $15. Even the generic version of Lipitor costs at least $140 in Canada, more than nine times more expensive than in New Zealand.
This report goes on and itemizes all the different aspects of a universal pharmacare system, where you contain costs, work with the prescribers, and do the bulk buying and negotiating. It takes all the pieces together to get an efficient system.
My final question—and I know I'm going to run out of time—is this: If some authors think that we clearly can, through a variety of approaches, make sure every Canadian gets the coverage they need at a cheaper cost than we are paying now, but there is a disagreement over whether that is possible, shouldn't we be exploring how to resolve that very important health policy question?