The Associations of Prescription Drug Insurance and Cost-Sharing With Drug Use, Health Services Use, and Health: A Systematic Review of Canadian Studies.

Objectives: In Canada, public insurance for physician and hospital services, without cost-sharing, is provided to all residents. Outpatient prescription drug coverage, however, is provided through a patchwork system of public and private plans, often with substantial cost-sharing, which leaves many underinsured or uninsured.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to examine the association of drug insurance and cost-sharing with drug use, health services use, and health in Canada.

A systematic umbrella review of the association of prescription drug insurance and cost-sharing with drug use, health services use, and health.

Background: Increasing spending and use of prescription drugs pose an important challenge to governments that seek to expand health insurance coverage to improve population health while controlling public expenditures. Patient cost-sharing such as deductibles and coinsurance is widely used with aim to control healthcare expenditures without adversely affecting health.

Methods: We conducted a systematic umbrella review with a quality assessment of included studies to examine the association of prescription drug insurance and cost-sharing with drug use, health services use, and health.