Public plans facing costs pressure

The latest CompassRx report of public drug plan expenditures shows that Canadian plans are getting squeezed by rising drug costs.

The annual report, which analyses drug spending trends for 11 publicly funded plans, showed a $1-billion spike in prescription drug spending during the 2015-2016 period. That brought total documented expenditures up to $11.3 billion, 79.7% of which was covered by the plans. The rest was paid by beneficiaries either out-of-pocket or through private drug plans.