Canadians with high medication costs saved over $946 million in out-of-pocket expenses last year through employer drug plans supported by a national pooling system, despite rapidly rising drug prices.
The Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation’s (CDIPC) framework provided coverage for more than 36,000 employees and their families whose annual drug costs exceeded $10,000, according to data released Tuesday.
“High-cost drug inflation outpaced the Consumer Price Index for 2023 by almost 400 percent,” said Dan Berty, executive director of CDIPC. “Despite this, CDIPC member companies and private insurers continue to offer extensive drug coverage that often exceeds public coverage.”
New drugs driving costs higher
The 21 insurance companies participating in the pooling system provided Extended Drug Insurance Policy Protection Plans to over 16,000 Canadian employers last year, with total claims paid increasing by more than 15 percent compared to 2022.
Since 2019, these drug insurance plans have covered 215 new high-cost medications approved by Health Canada. During 2022-2023 alone, 81 new high-cost drugs became available through these employer plans at an average cost of $41,000 per person or family.
Concerns about pharmacare impact
The insurance industry is raising concerns about how the federal government’s pharmacare initiative might affect existing drug coverage.
“As patients continue to be concerned with their ability to obtain and afford high-cost drugs, CDIPC member companies worry that the Federal Government’s pharmacare initiative will reduce access to medications that workers rely on through their employer-provided benefits,” Berty said.
Established in 2012, CDIPC is a not-for-profit corporation created by Canada’s life and health insurers to help maintain sustainable drug coverage by pooling claims for recurring high-cost drugs.
