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A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
June 2016
Out-of-pocket spending on drugs and pharmaceutical products and cost-related prescription non-adherence among Canadians with chronic disease
by Deirdre Hennessy, Claudia Sanmartin, Paul Ronksley, Rob Weaver, Dave Campbell, Braden Manns, Marcello Tonelli and Brenda Hemmelgarn
Prescription drugs are essential in the management of chronic diseases—an estimated 90% of individuals with major chronic conditions report taking one or more medications. Unlike hospital and physician care, prescription medications (other than those provided in hospital) are not covered by a universal insurance plan. Although all Canadian provinces provide some publicly funded drug insurance for certain segments of the population such as seniors and people receiving social assistance, provinces differ in their coverage of prescription medications for other groups and in the provision of catastrophic drug coverage. For many Canadians, prescription drugs are financed primarily through private insurance and out-of-pocket expenditures. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, out-of-pocket spending made up 34.3% of private expenditures on prescription medications in 2010.
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Out-of-pocket spending on drugs and pharmaceutical products and cost-related prescription non-adherence among Canadians with chronic disease
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