Author: Dr. Brett J Skinner, Ph.D.
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), which represents the private health insurance industry, is calling for increased government intervention in the market for patented pharmaceuticals (i.e. innovative or new medicines) because according to CLHIA, the cost of new medicines is threatening the sustainability of private drug plans in Canada. This study examines the drug costs of private insurers in Canada, in the context of other types of privately insured healthcare costs, in order to test the validity of CLHIA’s assertion that the cost of new medicines cannot be sustainably insured by the private sector without government intervention.
