In this issue of JointHealth™ insight, Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) looks at medication reimbursement coverage in Canada. Approximately 6 million people in Canada – 1 in in 5 adults – have arthritis. About 1 million of them live with inflammatory arthritis, which describes the primary types of autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis. The actual lived experience of people with arthritis reveals the significant challenges they face when trying to get reimbursed for arthritis medications they need from their public or private drug plan. Access to vital medications varies widely across the country. In this issue, ACE looks at how public and private drug plans review and list new medications and provide reimbursement access to medications and how important it is for them to be aware of the unmet needs of people with arthritis, focussing on the following topics:
- The types of advanced therapies available in Canada
- Public and private drug reimbursement plans in Canada
- Reimbursement coverage challenges
- Understanding the role of patient support programs
- Accessing important advanced therapies for people living with lupus
- The Canadian drug review process
- Arthritis Consumer Experts’ Patient Input Process
We want to hear from you
What has been your experience dealing with your current public or private drug reimbursement plan? Your feedback will help ACE when it meets with provincial, territorial, or private health insurance plan administrators and decision-makers to discuss how to improve reimbursement coverage. Please tell us what you think by emailing us at feedback@jointhealth.org.