By striking a partnership with other provinces, Manitoba has secured a lower price for six generic drugs and created over $9 million in annual savings for Manitobans and the provincial pharmacare program. This announcement was made by Health Minister Theresa Oswald.
“Provincial governments are working together to lower drug costs and create savings for families,” said Oswald. “At the same time, this partnership is lowering the costs governments pay through their pharmacare plans, creating further savings that can be reinvested in drug programs. We will continue to pursue every opportunity to lower drug costs for Manitobans.”
Last summer, premiers directed health ministers to choose commonly used generic drugs and pursue better pricing for all jurisdictions. This resulted in the Pan-Canadian Competitive Value Price Initiative for Generic Drugs, which has successfully negotiated lower prices on these six drugs to about 1/5th of the price of the equivalent brand-name products. These are the lowest generic prices achieved so far by provincial and territorial drug plans.
The lower prices apply to all Manitobans, whether they have drug coverage through pharmacare, private plans or pay themselves. It’s estimated that all Manitobans will save nearly $6 million and Manitoba drug programs, including pharmacare, will save over $3.2 million every year as a result of this change.
The generic drugs included in the first phase of the pan-Canadian partnership are:
- Atorvastatin, to treat high cholesterol;
- Ramipril, to treat blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions;
- Venlafaxine, to treat depression and other mental-health conditions;
- Amlodipine, to treat high blood pressure and angina; and
- Omeprazole and Rabeprazole, both used to treat a variety of gastrointestinal conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcers.
The changes will come into effect on April 1.
The minister noted she met with her colleagues from other provinces last week and they agreed to continue to work together to negotiate better drug prices for all jurisdictions.
Pharmacare is a universal, comprehensive prescription drug program for Manitobans with benefits based on family income. It covers 100 per cent of eligible drug costs once the income-based deductible is reached, regardless of medical condition or age. More information on the Manitoba Pharmacare Program is available at www.gov.mb.ca/health/pharmacare.
According to the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, generic drugs accounted for 65.1 per cent of prescriptions in Manitoba in 2011, the highest use of generics in Canada.
