Manulife-Loblaw deal on drugs for severe illness triggers fears for access, competition

financialpost.com:

Some pharmacare policy experts are raising concerns about competition and patient access to much-needed medication after Manulife Financial Corp. announced its coverage of certain prescription drugs will only apply at Loblaw Cos. Ltd. pharmacies.

The new arrangement, details of which were shared with plan holders earlier this month, affects around 260 medications under the insurance company’s Specialty Drug Care program. Drugs in this class are meant to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis and hepatitis C.

Manulife said that starting Jan. 22, the program would transition to being carried out “primarily” through Shoppers Drug Mart and other Loblaw-owned pharmacies. The company had previously also covered specialty drugs through national home and community health-care providerBayshore HealthCare.

“At this time, to evolve our program, it’s appropriate to select a single service provider to move the program forward for the benefit of our customers and their employees,” said Doug Bryce, Manulife vice-president of product and platforms, in the announcement.

Such deals that provide exclusivity, known as preferred pharmacy network arrangements, are common in the United States and growing in Canada, said Steve Morgan, an economist and professor of health policy at the University of British Columbia.

“It is a means of insurers exercising market power in the pharmacy sector,” said Morgan, who studies pharmacare systems, in an email.

“This is a concern for smaller pharmacies, who will get squeezed by these practices as they extend beyond specialty medicines … It is also of potential concern to patients