Originally Posted by
GarryB
Have margins not improved (still tight) for pharmacies in the last few years as direct prescription prices have increased from $3 to $5, and prescription trend is upwards, steep. Going to the Doc for a prescription, subsidized by the government, is much more cost effective then buying direct from a pharmacy...
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This misses the way the funding model is structured. The " was $3.00 , is now $5.00 " fee is a co-payment set by the Ministry of Health ie not in pharmacy's control. That co-payment is in effective a user tax - from the pharmacist's perspective the total payment per script hasn't grown - it's just the proportion that has changed ( more coming from the end user rather than being funded by the Govt.