COST DRIVERS IN PUBLIC DRUG PLANS IN CANADA, 2015/16 - COMPASSRX
Author(s)
Lungu E1, Bosnic N2, McComb G3
1Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2PMPRB, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 3Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), Ottawa, ON, Canada
OBJECTIVES: After several years of low or negative growth, drug expenditures in public drug plans increased sharply by 12.2% in 2015/16. The 3rd edition of the CompassRx provides insight into the factors that contributed to this remarkable growth in cost. METHODS: The analysis uses claims-level public drug plan data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s NPDUIS Database for the 2011/12 to 2015/16 fiscal years. A sophisticated cost-driver model isolates the key factors contributing to changes in drug and dispensing costs: the mix of drugs, drug prices, dispensing fees, the volume of drugs, and changes in the demographic profile of the beneficiaries. RESULTS: The striking growth in drug costs in 2015/16 was due to the combined effect of limited generic savings and an increased use of high-cost drugs. The hepatitis C drugs Harvoni, Sovaldi and Holkira alone contributed 7.3% toward this increase in growth, while other high-cost drugs continued to put pressure on costs. The generic drug use and lower prices, which markedly pulled down drug costs in recent years, had a diminished cost saving impact from -9.2% in 2012/13 to -4.1% in 2015/16 and was no longer able to offset the effect of higher-cost drugs. CONCLUSIONS: A greater understanding of the forces driving expenditures in Canadian public drug plans will inform policy and stakeholder discussions and aid in anticipating, managing and responding to evolving cost pressures.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2017-05, ISPOR 2017, Boston, MA, USA
Value in Health, Vol. 20, No. 5 (May 2017)
Code
PHP74
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies
Disease
Multiple Diseases