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Socioeconomic Status and the Use of Medicines in the Ontario Public Drug Program

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  • Sara Allin
  • Audrey Laporte

Abstract

Residents of Ontario aged 65 years and older are covered by a provincially funded prescription drug program. The aim of this paper is to assess the extent of inequity in prescription drug use for people eligible for Ontario Drug Benefit coverage, and to explore the different possible explanations for inequities. The analyses draw on the Canadian Community Health Survey from 2005, which is linked to pharmacy and Ontario Health Insurance Plan claims data. We model the number of therapeutically different prescription drugs and the total expenditures on medications on a set of health, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators, and we calculate the concentration index of income-related inequality in medicine use. The results show that low-income individuals who have enrolled in the reduced cost-sharing program on average use more medications than those with higher income, even after adjusting for a comprehensive set of health and demographic variables. While Ontario's public drug program appears to have ensured access to medications for low-income seniors, the results of this study raise concerns about the potential inappropriateness of medication use and point to a gap in drug policy in Ontario.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Allin & Audrey Laporte, 2011. "Socioeconomic Status and the Use of Medicines in the Ontario Public Drug Program," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 37(4), pages 563-576, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:37:y:2011:i:4:p:563-576
    DOI: 10.3138/cpp.37.4.563
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    Cited by:

    1. Allin, Sara & Law, Michael R. & Laporte, Audrey, 2013. "How does complementary private prescription drug insurance coverage affect seniors’ use of publicly funded medications?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 147-155.
    2. Guo, Elaine Xiaoyu & Sweetman, Arthur & Guindon, G. Emmanuel, 2020. "Socioeconomic differences in prescription drug supplemental coverage in Canada: A repeated cross-sectional study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 252-260.

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