Most governments consider healthcare an important national and agenda and improve the state of healthcare by regulating the prices of prescription drugs. There are laws and guidelines that control the manufacture, sale, and prescription drug prices. In Canada, prescription drug prices are quite low as compared to the neighboring states such as the United States and most people do not understand how that has maintained a low pricing for the drugs. In as much as the cost of manufacture of drugs in the neighboring states are almost the same, Canadians enjoy low prescription drug prices. Canadians are not usually worried about accessing prescription drugs as they are available in the market at a significantly reduced price. The article herein will help you understand why prescription drug prices are low in Canada.
The first reason why prescription drug prices are low in Canada is that the government has strict regulations and policies that limit the prices of drugs released to the market. Through the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, the state can review the prices of different prescription drugs released in the market including those meant for pets. Working together with the pharmaceutical companies, the board has managed to ensure that prescription drugs are available at affordable prices. One of the strategies that the government has employed to ensure that the companies do not overprice the drugs is offering subsidies.
The other way through which the board ensures that the prices of drugs are reasonable is preventing pharmaceutical companies to sell expensive drugs to consumers. This is a big threat that forces the pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of prescription to enjoy the large market share in Canada. Researching the prices of the same drugs in different states has helped the board establish the right prices of prescription drugs. Canadians are therefore assured that they are paying the right amount for the prescriptions drugs. This strategy has been adopted by US consumers to ensure that they acquire prescription drugs at the best prices. It is easy to check the prescription drug prices across the border before buying.
The Canadian healthcare system puts the health of the citizens before profits. In as much as pharmaceutical companies are profit-making organizations, the goal is to ensure that the consumers can access the prescription drug at an affordable price. Statistics show that Canadians are usually willing to pay more taxes for universal healthcare to be achieved. This explains why pharmaceutical companies are comfortable negotiating with the state to ensure that prescription drug prices are low. From the above discussion, you now understand why prescription drug prices are lower in Canada.