Generic prices "twice as high" in Canada as in USA

A report by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think-tank, has found that senior citizens paid over twice as much for generic drugs as their US counterparts, due to opposite trends since 2003 in the two North American countries. However, branded drugs remain considerably cheaper for Canadians than for US residents.

The Fraser Institute report found that non-branded medicines cost 118% more in Canada versus the USA in 2006, up from 64% in 2003. The authors said that "high prices for generic drugs are caused by misguided public policies that shield retail pharmacies and generic drug manufacturers from the competitive market forces that would put downward pressure on the price of generic drugs."

Any gap in price is likely to have widened since 2006 as the price war between major retailers on low-cost drugs only started in that year (Marketletters passim). Some prescription drugs are now cheaper from Wal-Mart or Target, at $4 per month's supply, than the co-payment would be for an insured customer (Marketletter September 8).