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Manitobans spending more on drugs

Average Manitoban spends $667 per year

By: Larry Kusch

Posted: 05/5/2011 1:58 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

WINNIPEG - The cost of drugs is taking a bigger bite out of Canadians’ paycheques, and Manitobans are not immune.

Total drug spending in Canada exceeded $30 billion for the first time last year, according to a new report published today.

By the numbers

12.9% — share of drugs (prescription and non-prescription) in total health spending in Manitoba, compared with 13.9 per cent in 2009.

16.3 — percentage of Canadian health spending devoted to drugs, unchanged from 2009.

$808.17 — estimated amount spent per capita in Manitoba on prescription and non-prescription drugs in 2010, an increase of 4.8 per cent from 2009.

$667.27 — amount spent per capita in Manitoba on prescription drugs in 2010, up 5.1 per cent from 2009.

$317.79 — amount of public spending per capital on prescription drugs, an increase of 2.8 per cent in 2009.

47.6 — percentage of prescribed drugs financed by the public sector in Manitoba in 2010. In other provinces, the percentage ranged from 33 per cent in New Brunswick to 56.3 per cent in Saskatchewan.

7 — number of Canadian provinces where total per capita drug expenditures (prescription and on-prescription) exceeded that of Manitoba in 2010.

83.8 — percentage of total drug spending earmarked for prescription drugs in Canada in 2010. In 2009, the figure stood at 84.0 per cent. In Manitoba, prescribed drugs made up 82.6 per cent of overall drug costs last year.

Source: Drug Expenditure in Canada 1985-2010, Canadian Institute for Health Information

Per capita spending on prescription and non-prescription drugs in Manitoba rose an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2010 to $808.17.

The nearly five per cent increase dwarfed the province’s overall inflation rate, which stood at a national low of 0.8 per cent last year.

The amount Manitobans spent on prescription drugs (including the portion covered by government) rose 5.1 per cent to $667.27 per person.

Meanwhile, Manitoba had the highest increase in private-sector spending on prescription drugs in Canada last year, at 7.2 per cent.

The new statistics are contained in a report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), entitled Drug Expenditure in Canada 1985-2010.

The report says that drug costs as a percentage of overall health spending has remained stable in Canada for the past two years at 16.3 per cent. But it’s taking a much bigger chunk out of the health spending pie than it did in 1985, when it stood at 9.5 per cent.

Manitoba’s per capita spending on prescription and non-prescription drugs ($808.17) was third lowest among Canadian provinces last year. Spending was highest in Quebec ($1,016.78) and lowest in British Columbia ($701.08).

Total drug spending in Canada last year was estimated at $31.1 billion, up from $29.7 billion in 2009.

According to the report, Canadians spend the second highest amount per capita on prescription and non-prescription drugs. Only Americans spend more.

Canadians rank fifth in per capita spending on health care in general, behind the United States and three European countries. Canada spends $5,020 per person on health compared with $9,276 (Cdn dollars) in the Unites States.

The report says health system rules, such as which drugs are covered under publicly funded programs, and access to company insurance plans are two factors influencing drug expenditures.

Other factors include the introduction of new drugs, new generic drugs and the amount of time and money pharmaceutical companies spend hyping their products with doctors and the public at large.

The report said new drugs are often introduced at much higher prices than existing ones. In 2009, 81 new patented drugs were introduced in Canada.

The report notes that the patents on several high-cost drugs in Canada have just expired or are about to expire, including Lipitor (cholesterol and heart disease), Crestor (high cholesterol) and Plavix (heart and stroke).

While some new drugs have reduced overall medical costs, it’s not known whether increases in total drug spending negatively or positively affect overall health outcomes, the report says.

It’s also unknown how drug use affects spending in other health areas, such as whether it leads to reduced hospitalization.

Another area where more study is needed, the report’s authors say, is how consumer advertising affects physician prescribing practices, doctor-patient communication and the public’s understanding of drug therapy in Canada.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

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