While Canadian employers agree that coverage of prescription drugs is an important part of the national healthcare system, they have strong viewpoints and concerns about the adoption of a national pharmacare program, according to new research by Aon Hewitt.
The research found that, should a public program require additional funding, respondents cautiously support a funding model that would be directly attributable to drug coverage, with around 70% of respondents expressed some level of agreement with a dedicated tax or premium paid directly by employers or individuals.
On the other hand, the research found that there is far less support for funding pharmacare through tax increases rolled into general government revenues, and very low support for cutbacks to current healthcare or other social programs to fund universal drug coverage.
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The majority (92%) of employers surveyed by Aon recognize that drug coverage is a
fundamental element of the Canadian healthcare system, and 88% agreed that the coverage
should not vary by province, as it currently does.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that a national pharmacare system would be better than the current one, and more than half (58%) agree that universal drug coverage would improve the health of Canadians.
According to the research, employers are reserving a healthy dose of skepticism for government’s role in funding and administering national pharmacare. Some 83% said that coverage should be for a managed list of drugs, 47% do not believe the government would make good decisions about
which drugs would be covered.
As well, more than 85% of survey respondents said they support cost-sharing for users of the system through deductibles or co-pays. In addition, 64% believe that even with a national pharmacare program, employers would still feel the need to offer supplemental coverage.
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“Universal drug coverage is increasingly on the public and political agendas, but employers’ voices need to be heard, too,” said Tim Clarke, chief innovation officer, health and benefits at Aon Hewitt.
“Not only do they have a right to be part of the pharmacare conversation as major providers of drug coverage to Canadians, but they can also provide important, real-world perspectives on the issue.
“We are hearing employers say that, yes, they endorse the ideal of universal drug coverage. But there is a big difference between the ideal and the reality, and the employers we talked to clearly believe that the devil is in the details.”