Ontario's plunging price-caps on generics: deeper dives may drown some drugs

Open Med. 2011;5(3):e149-52. Epub 2011 Sep 27.

Abstract

In April 2010, the Ontario government announced another reduction in the maximum price of generic drugs permitted under the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program, demanding that generic drugs now be sold for no more than 25% of the branded product's price. Other provinces are following Ontario in setting unprecedentedly low price-caps to reduce the cost of generic drugs. Generic product substitution legislation is vital to reducing costs to provincial drug plans, yet lower and lower price-caps may undo some of the benefits of substitution legislation if generics find it difficult to survive.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Commerce / statistics & numerical data*
  • Drugs, Generic / economics*
  • Health Care Costs
  • Health Policy*
  • Health Services Accessibility / economics*
  • Health Services Accessibility / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / economics
  • Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / statistics & numerical data
  • Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / economics
  • Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / statistics & numerical data
  • Internationality
  • Ontario
  • Pharmacopoeias as Topic*

Substances

  • Drugs, Generic