Health committee  We collect data on this, obviously, as it is our business. In fact, the proportion of Canadians who have coverage is higher than it has ever been. The trend is up, not down. If you look at the data on our web page, you can see that. We don't see any evidence that employer plans

Health committee  The $20 billion was in the parliamentary budget officer's report.

Health committee  I think you can assume you're going to cut the cost of every drug in Canada by 25%. Work out the math; it will be a lot of money.

Health committee  Yes, there is money there if you can cut the cost of those drugs, that's for sure, and we're not disputing that. The way you're going to get most of those savings is by bulk purchasing those drugs and doing a better job of negotiating.

Health committee  Those are the facts, and that's what I was referring to.

Health committee  The PBO estimated it at $4.2 billion. I think you can change that assumption and assume 28% or 30%. If they put sensitivities in there, you'll get different numbers. What I don't think anyone would disagree with is that it's billions of dollars that we could be using better if w

Health committee  To be really frank, I don't know that we understand who those 12% are. I don't think we understand why they are not filling their prescriptions. Is there a certain class of drugs that is the problem? Is there a certain regional distribution that is the problem? We don't know enou

Health committee  If it's a public drug program, they would be funding it out of general funds. A senior in Ontario on the senior ODB plan would present their OHIP card at the pharmacy. That would get adjudicated on the back end and paid out of Ontario government finances.

Health committee  It has nothing to do with the insurer. An employee of the Province of Ontario would be sponsored through an insurer. It depends on which province you are talking about. In that instance, it would go through a different channel, the way that payment would be settled. Sometimes it

Health committee  Yes. That's what I was referring to in my remarks. What we have today is a scenario where governments have banded together. They negotiate lower prices on new drugs coming to Canada, but they do that only for the benefit of their own beneficiaries, their employees. Anyone else i

Health committee  Yes, I wanted to address the concept of administrative cost savings, which I think an individual raised. I want to remind everyone on the committee that we don't administer drug plans. We administer the business of supplemental benefits, which includes a wide range of things: d

Health committee  Thank you for inviting me again. My name is Stephen Frank and I am the president and CEO of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). Joining me today is Karen Voin, vice-president, Group Insurance and Anti-Fraud, also from CLHIA. On behalf of the life and hea