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In a not-so-romantic Canadian pairing, an insurance giant and grocery conglomerate have officially announced they are exclusive.
What happened: Manulife Financial, the largest insurance provider in Canada, will only offer coverage for certain prescription drugs at Loblaw-owned pharmacies, including Shoppers Drug Mart, according to The Canadian Press.
- The arrangement affects ~260 medications under Manulife’s Specialty Drug Care program, including medications for multiple sclerosis (MS), hepatitis C, and cancer.
- The partnership signals that exclusive preferred pharmacy deals — which are already very common in the U.S. — are gaining traction in Canada.
Catch up: While provinces and territories have public drug plans that cover some basic prescription medications, many Canadians rely on private insurers to cover specialty drugs for more serious illnesses that can be extremely expensive to pay for out of pocket.
Why it matters: In addition to taking away Manulife customers' choice of pharmacy, experts say the partnership forces smaller pharmacies out of the picture and could potentially hurt competition in a sector where the mark-ups on drugs are already shrouded in secrecy.
- Concerns have also been raised about patients — particularly in rural areas — having reduced access to their medicine if this model is widely adopted.
Yes, but: Other experts say making pharmacies compete for the business of the millions of Canadians insured by Manulife will increase competition and could drive down costs for consumers.—LA