Reimbursement for cancer patients faces complex challenges in Canada. The government only reimburses for cancer drugs when they are administered in a health facility. The patients must pay for any medications taken at home. According to an article by Wayne Taylor, cancer patients and their families in the country faces financial burden as a result of this arrangement. Considering that oral chemotherapy drugs are the first line of treatment for cancer, purchasing the drug to take at home is expensive to majority of the population. People with no health insurance and low incomes cannot afford the drugs, lowering their survival rates. Both public and private health insurance do not reimburse or pay upfront for expensive health services. Patients have to wait for approval when requiring life-saving treatments(Taylor, 2014).

Healthcare reimbursement in Canada also faces the challenge of non-adherence from the patients. Patients who cannot easily afford to pay for their medication end up skipping doses. Some do not even fill the prescription forms due to cost. Non-adherence affects the patients’ health and increases the overall cost of health care in the long-term. The patients will prefer a situation where they are hospitalized so that the government can reimburse for the medication.

The burden of drug is shifting to individuals. Payment for the cost of novel drugs is the issue for the payers. There is need to change the policies to ensure utilization of medicine rather than seek other less cost effective therapies. It is possible to administer chemotherapy medication intravenously allowing the patient to be in a health care facility for some time. The main problem is that there is no universality in reimbursement for cancer drugs. In some provinces, the provincial governments pay for cancer drugs regardless of income level or whether taken at home or in a health center. However, other provinces have not adopted this reimbursement program to alleviate the financial burden to cancer patients.

Reference

Taylor, D. (2014). Benefits Outweigh Costs in Universal Healthcare: Business Case for       Reimbursement of Take-home Cancer Medicines in Ontario and Atlantic             Canada. American Journal Of Medicine And Medical Sciences, 4(4).             https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ajmms.20140404.05.