All provincial governments in Canada reimburse some portion of the cost of out-of-hospital prescription drugs consumed by groups such as the elderly or those with low incomes. A characteristic shared by all programs in recent years has been rapid growth in expenditures. In an effort to control...

Pharmaceuticals are the focus of increased scrutiny by public insurers. Between 1985 and 1998, drug expenditure in Canada increased by 226% - approximately double the increase in total expenditure on health. Prescribed and non-prescribed drugs now comprise the second-largest share of health care...