cover image: Cancer drug access for Canadians

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Cancer drug access for Canadians

14 Sep 2009

While the publicly funded health system provides cancer drugs administered in hospitals and clinics free of charge to patients, half of newer cancer drugs are taken at home and are the responsibility of the patient. [...] In the treatment of colorectal cancer, for example, the cost of a drug treatment regimen has risen from $300 in the 1980s, to $10,000 in the 1990s, to between $20,000 and $30,000 in this decade. [...] As noted in the Introduction, cancer drugs administered in hospitals and cancer clinics are paid by the provincial and territorial governments, under the terms of the Canada Health Act. [...] The comprehensiveness of drug plan formularies differs between private and public insurance, and among provincial and territorial drug plans, in terms of the number of drugs covered, the timeliness of funding decisions and the bureaucratic complexities involved in applying for access to drugs that are designated as restricted. [...] Coverage of cancer drugs for all Coverage of cancer drugs until the residents after the family family prescription costs exceed the prescription costs exceed the income based deductible and income based deductible.
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Pages
42
Published in
Canada

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