Ontario is one of the largest purchasers of prescription drugs in the world, but we’ve been paying some of the highest prices for generic drugs.

Compared to some US states, we pay as much as five times more for some of the most popular generic drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure and other health conditions.

This is money we could put to better use covering more drugs and investing in our health system.

That’s why the government is moving to drop the cost of generics by 50%. This would mean :

• Better access to cheaper medications
• More choice for people
• A stronger, more accountable health care system.

Simply put, fair drug prices benefit all Ontarians. Ensuring Better Value for Money

Along with increasing Ontarians’ access to drugs, getting better value for money spent on these drugs is one of the government’s top priorities. Changes brought about by The Transparent System for Patients Act has enabled a significant amount of progress in this regard. In 2004/2005 the annual growth rate of drug program costs was 10%. It is now at 5%. That has translated into savings of more than $1 billion taxpayer dollars since 2006, money we have reinvested into a system that is funding more drugs for more people.

See also :

• Improving patient access to drugs
• Promoting the better use of medications
• Investing in innovative health system research
• Strengthening transparency and accountability in the public drug system
• Ensuring Better Value for Money