Retirement News : Seniors : Ontario seniors urge Smitherman to stop controversial pricing plan ...

Ontario seniors urge Smitherman to stop controversial pricing plan ...

Date Added: 31-03-2005

Over 80% of Ontario's seniors express opposition with plan to make
    government responsible for choosing prescription medications rather than
    doctors

    TORONTO, March 30 /CNW/ - A new survey commissioned by CARP (Canada's
Association for the Fifty-Plus) shows that Ontarians strongly oppose a
proposed pricing plan by the Liberal government to restrict access to current
medications. "Ontarians don't believe it is smart healthcare policy to limit
their doctors' options as this may increase the likelihood of greater    
side-effects, more doctor visits or hospital stays," says Lillian Morgenthau,
President of CARP, "And I couldn't agree more."
    During a recent meeting with Ontario Health Minister Smitherman, CARP
urged the government not to consider introducing policies that would force
seniors to either pay out of pocket for keeping their current medication, or
else require them to switch to a government-approved medication that may not
work as well. "This policy undermines the role of doctors and creates a new
tax for seniors on medicines. British Columbia tried this and it didn't work.
You would think that the Ontario government would learn from someone else's
mistakes." According to the survey, almost all respondents are unfamiliar with
policies like reference-based pricing or maximum allowable cost. The more
information they received however, the more opposed they were to the policy.
"I urged the Minister to be more forthcoming with Ontarians about their plans.
This is too important of an issue to be kept from the public and the
government needs to be more transparent about its intentions." Morgenthau
added, "It frightens me that instead of a doctor, some bureaucrat would decide
what the best medication for a patient should be. It doesn't make medical
sense and it certainly doesn't make financial sense."

    Ontarians need more information and want public consultations
    The CARP survey showed that 86% of Ontarians are unfamiliar with the
concept of reference-based pricing on an unprompted basis. Of the 14% who
expressed some level of familiarity, less than 5% were able to correctly
describe the policy.
    Additionally, almost three-quarters of those surveyed were opposed to
this type of policy given that the Ontario government has not publicly
consulted with Ontarians, seniors, and other key groups who would be affected
by this policy.

    Ontarians value their relationship with physicians
    The opposition to policies such as reference-based pricing increases with
information that these policies will increase the government's role in
treatment selection and that it would limit Ontarians' ability to receive the
medicine that is right for them (86% and 78%, respectively, are more likely to
oppose the pricing policy).
    Seven-in-ten Ontario seniors surveyed are currently taking prescription
medication. In addition, 94% of them have an existing relationship with their
physician. The new policy would reduce treatment options for seniors and
restrict medicines currently funded by the Government - leaving physicians
with limited options to provide optimal patient care.

    Reference-based pricing or Maximum allowable cost
    Under these policies, Ontarians who have their drugs paid for by the
Ontario Drug Benefit program, many of whom are seniors, will have to pay a
portion or all of their drug costs out-of-pocket in order to remain on their
current medicines. If the person is unable to afford to pay out-of-pocket for
a portion of their drug costs, the government will force them to switch to a
drug that may not work and in fact may leave them sicker in the end.

    Survey Methodology
    The telephone survey, conducted by POLLARA on behalf of CARP, interviewed
528 Ontario residents over the age of 50 between March 2 and March 4, 2005. A
sample of this size is accurate to within (+/-) 4.3 percentage points,
nineteen times out of twenty. At the data processing stage, the data were
weighted back into their correct proportions using Statistics Canada targets
for age, gender, and population distribution.

    CARP
    CARP is Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus. A non-profit
organization with 400,000 members across the country, CARP's mission is to
promote and protect the rights and quality of life for older Canadians. For
further information on CARP initiatives and membership:
www.50plus.com/carp/about/main.cfm.

For More Information: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2005/30/c9538.html