Alberta’s new pharmaceutical strategy which promises lowered private drug coverage expenses, is something that could be used to an employers advantage.  In “Generic Drug Re-Pricing: Your Savings Checklist,”author Tim Clarke suggests that employers are taking a “wait and see” position instead of being proactive.  Clarke asserts that “with the right strategies, the combination of generic pricing changes and the expiry of a number of high profile drug patents has the potential to result in almost zero drug inflation for 2011 and 2012. However, without specific plan elements in place, doing nothing—even temporarily—prevents employers from taking full advantage of the changes.”  Some of these strategies include introducing a drug card, using and promoting generic formularies and adding dispensing fee caps are some of Clarke’s strategies for keeping costs under control.

See Clarke’s full article with his recommendations at:

http://www.benefitscanada.com/benefit/health/article.jsp?content=20100715_161506_8240&page=1

Comments are closed.