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Canada's Drug Price Paradox, 2007

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Canadians pay much more than Americans for generic drugs because government policies in Canada distort the market for prescription medicines. In currency-equivalent terms, Canadian retail prices for generic prescription drugs in 2006 were on average 115% higher than retail prices observed in the United States for identical drugs. A previous analysis using 2003 data found that prices for generic drugs were 78% higher in Canada. By contrast, Canadian retail prices for brand-name drugs were on average 51% below US prices for identical drugs in 2006. In 2003, the prices for brand-name drugs was 43% lower in Canada on average. For Canadians, this means that since 2003 the cost of generic drugs has risen relative to US prices, while the cost of brand-name drugs has decreased.


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