Healthy Skepticism Library item: 7572

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Publication type: news

Bruemmer R, Dougherty K.
End of price freeze a bitter pill for seniors
The Gazette (Montreal) 2007 Jan 18
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=588c149e-47ed-4f44-b6c3-9a4098a9ecc7

Full text:

Emily Dube earns about $1,000 a month from various pensions, which “is not an awful lot to live on these days,” she notes.

From that grand total, the 74-year-old Lachine resident pays for her rent, food and about $100 a month in medications.

Yet she considers herself fortunate.

“A lot of people live on even smaller amounts,” said Dube, chairperson of the board of directors of Lachine Senior Citizens Resources Inc., better known as the Lachine Teapot.

Quebec’s plan to lift a price freeze on prescription drugs – in place since 1994 – could lead to an increase in drug fees.

It was not immediately clear what the effect would be. The prices of drugs introduced since 1994 are not subject to the freeze. Regardless, the confirmation from provincial Health Minister Philippe Couillard came as a bitter pill for those who work with a segment of society they say is already living close to the edge.

“A lot of people in our age group are taking medication, and if prices go up, oh boy,” Dube said. “And I don’t really know what to do about it.”

“The reality of the situation is we have a number of seniors who have to continually choose between taking their medication and other options in life,” said Herb Finkelberg, executive director of the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors.

“Already, we subsidize hundreds of seniors to help cover their Quebec medical premiums because they can’t afford it,” Finkelberg said.

Despite the freeze, the cost of prescription drugs in Quebec has been increasing by as much as 15 per cent a year, because the newer drugs are more expensive and aging Quebecers are using more medications.

Couillard said pharmaceutical companies wanting to raise their prices will have to sign agreements with the government. The increases, in most cases, will be limited to the cost of living, he added.

At the same time, the minister will introduce an “optimal use” approach, relying on the least-costly solution and limiting drug use.

“So (pharmaceutical companies) have to become, and will become, socially responsible in the way they promote their products,” Couillard said.

The government’s assurances it will cover any price rise ring hollow, because increases will invariably be passed to consumers in the form of higher premiums as the province’s drug plan incurs rising costs, Finkelberg said.

“It is incomprehensible that the government allow drug companies, whose income is astronomical, to continue to raise their prices and increase their profits on the backs of the most vulnerable in our community,” he said.

Many seniors already skimp on their medications to save money, which often ends up costing them and society more.

“The result is, you exacerbate the medical situation and you end up having a far worse medical problem than when you started.”

For many, the golden years have become a misnomer, said Maggie Lathiec, coordinator of home support services for the Lachine Teapot.

“I’ve heard stories of people who are diabetic and they need regular medication on top of their other medications,” she said. “And they’ll say: ‘Well, you know, I’ll buy food this week and I’ll buy medication next week.’ “
Dube has a daughter who works in the pharmaceutical industry, so she said she realizes the high costs involved in developing drugs.

“Their research is very expensive, so I can see their point,” she said. “But do they understand our point?”

The bulk of Canada’s pharmaceutical industry is in Quebec, and Couillard acknowledged this was a factor in the decision, which he is to formally announce in a few weeks.

“For many reasons, we cannot maintain this artificial policy in Quebec of freezing the price of medication,” he said.

“First, it is a situation that is unique in North America. It affects our competitiveness in the attractiveness we have for this industry, which is vital for Quebec, for its development.

“And if we kept this policy, we would risk losing access to drugs because companies would start removing some of their products from the Quebec market.”

Charles Tanguay, of the Union des consommateurs, said Couillard was sounding more like an economic development minister than a health minister.

“This is a policy for economic development, not health. We shouldn’t mix the two.”

Tanguay said he agrees with Couillard’s proposed optimal-use approach, saying Quebecers are over-consuming drugs, encouraged by the sales efforts of drug companies that often spend more on marketing than on research and development.

Steve Morgan, a health economist at the University of British Columbia, has studied drug costs across Canada and has found that despite the freeze, Quebecers spend the most per capita on prescription drugs.

They use more prescription drugs, a more expensive mix of products, and pay more for the same medications than residents of other provinces, he said.

“It seems to be the tradition in Quebec that people will fill a prescription faster than people in other provinces,” he said. “Quebecers expect more from drugs.”