Income class and pharmaceutical expenditure in Canada: 1964-1990

In the 1970s, nearly all Canadian provinces introduced drug programs to subsidize purchases by low-income families. This study was undertaken to determine whether these programs were successful in reducing out-of-pocket pharmaceutical expenditures for low-income families and individuals, and to compare expenditures in this group with those of high-income families. Expenditures were calculated for a low- and a high-income group from Statistics Canada surveys conducted between 1964 and 1990. In the low-income group there was a 40% decline in drug expenditure measured as a percentage of total family expenditure and this was coincident with the introduction of provincial drug programs. However, the high-income group had an even larger decrease in drug expenditure. Per capita spending as a percentage of total family expenditure in the low-income group, was seven times that of the high-income group and there was no change in this ratio after the introduction of the drug plans.