Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation members saved over $946 million in out-of-pocket drug costs through extended policy plans in 2023
More than 16,000 Canadian employers received Extended Drug Insurance Policy Protection Plans (EP3s) through the Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation’s (CDIPC) high-cost drug framework in 2023.
These plans, provided by 21 participating insurance companies, supported over 36,000 employees and their families who each faced more than $10,000 in annual drug expenses.
CDIPC’s pooling structure helped reduce Canadians’ out-of-pocket drug costs by more than $946m.
Member insurers also increased the total amount of claims paid by over 15 percent compared to the previous year.
According to CDIPC, private insurers have been including a growing number of new high-cost medications.
Since 2019, EP3 drug plans have accepted claims for 215 high-cost drugs that were approved by Health Canada and introduced to the market.
The corporation said this reflects the private drug insurance sector’s ongoing approach to covering new medications more broadly and quickly than public programs.
Dan Berty, executive director of CDIPC, said high-cost drug inflation outpaced the consumer price index (CPI) for 2023 by nearly 400 percent.
He added that “CDIPC member companies and private insurers continue to offer extensive drug coverage that often exceeds public coverage.”
He noted that 81 new high-cost drugs emerged from the pipeline during 2022–23 and were covered through EP3 drug insurance plans at an average cost of $41,000 per family or individual.
He added that “CDIPC member companies worry that the Federal Government's pharmacare initiative will reduce access to medications that workers rely on through their employer-provided benefits,” as patients remain concerned about affording these treatments.
