Government reviewing Manulife-Loblaw deal
Starting Jan. 22, Manulife’s coverage of certain specialty prescription drugs will only apply at Loblaw-owned pharmacies.
The deal between the two companies affects around 260 medications under Manulife’s Specialty Drug Care program, according to reports.
These medicines are meant to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis and hepatitis C.
Previously, Manulife covered specialty drugs through national home and community health-care provider Bayshore HealthCare.
Employers expect a sharp increase of 5.2% in the average per-employee cost of employer-sponsored health insurance in 2024, and the sharp increase in spending on prescription drugs in 2023 is one factor, according to a previous Mercer report.
The Manulife-Loblaw deal will provide "more options" for group benefits members to receive their specialty medications, Manulife spokeswoman Emily Vear told The Canadian Press in a statementt, according to CBC.
That is because patients will be able to pick up drugs from a Loblaw-owned store or have them delivered to their homes.
"We believe in providing our members greater choice in how they access and receive the services they need for their health and wellness," she said.
"This exciting partnership also enables access to a dedicated team of expert professionals, such as nurses and pharmacists, to help manage and administer our members' medications."
‘Very shady deals that are completely under the table’
Meanwhile, the federal government is reviewing the Manulife-Loblaw deal.
“They don't get the message. We want more competition in this country,” Francois-Philippe Champagne, industry minister, told reporters on Wednesday, according to CP24.
“We want more options. We want more choices, so that's not going in the direction we want to see.”
Several stakeholders have criticized the arrangement.
“They don't get the message. We want more competition in this country,” Champagne told reporters.
“We want more options. We want more choices, so that's not going in the direction we want to see.”
Mina Tadrous, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, said such a deal can make it more difficult for patients to have access to drugs that they need.
"They may go to their pharmacy that they regularly go to and find out that they have to switch pharmacies or go somewhere else. And so that might be concerning and it could be especially concerning for patients that live in rural areas," he said in the CBC report.
Smaller pharmacies and personal care will also both take a hit, said Kyro Maseh, who owns Lawlor Pharmasave in Toronto.
"What it means for the patient at the end of the day is that they're going to be picking up their medications from a high-volume pharmacy, or mail-order pharmacy for that matter, thus eliminating any sort of personal care in the process.”
"The consolidation of the pharmacy business is less choice for Canadians," Stephen Morgan, a professor of health policy at the University of British Columbia, told CTV News. "It will start looking a lot like our telecom industry where we have less choice and pay high prices. You don't want to see that in your pharmaceutical sector."
Commenting on the Manulife-Loblaw deal, Stephen Morgan, a professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in pharmaceutical policy, said: "The very big and very powerful insurance companies essentially are exercising some of their market power in the pharmacy business,” according to the CBC report.
Recently, Alberta highlighted an expansion of private pharmacy clinics across the province as a significant relief measure for overburdened family doctors and emergency rooms.
‘They should be passing on the savings to their insured customers’
But another expert claimed that Manulife’s deal with Loblaw can actually help out insured workers.
"Manulife has identified that they're basically able to get a better deal by going to a single provider," Aidan Hollis, an economics professor at the University of Calgary, told CBC.
"When they get that better deal, the idea is that they should be passing on the savings to their insured customers," he said.
And other insurers may follow suit with similar deals, he said.
"It's a single sliver of a deal, so the business is much larger than this. This is just Manulife, it's not every insurer. Probably those independent pharmacies can collaborate, form chains or collaborations, and figure out a way to try to get back some of that business.
"There's no reason for Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws to try to get all of it. We would expect other chains to try to do the same thing."