Canada's drug bill near C$30B in 2008

Canada's total drug spending is estimated to have reached C$29.8 billion ($24.31 billion) in 2008, according to the Canadian Institute for Health  Information, a rise of 8.3% versus the previous year. Prescribed  medicine costs, accounting for 84% of the total drug bill, rose 9% vs  only 4.6% for over-the-counter products.

Michael Hunt, the manager of pharmaceutical programs at the CIHI, said:  "over the last 20 years, drugs have consistently remained one of the  major cost drivers in health care. Spending on pharmaceuticals has more  than doubled over the past 10 years, outpacing growth in health spending  by hospitals, physicians and other health professionals."

The aggregate figures hide key differences in the performance of  various areas of Canadian health care. For example, the biggest increase  in spending on prescription medicines has been in the private sector, up  11% in 2008 to C$14.0 billion, which represents over 55% of the  country's Rx expenditure. By contrast, public-sector spending on the  same categories of drug was up 6.7%, reaching C$11.2 billion.