Posted by Michael Wonder on 27 Feb 2019
While some patients pay for biologic drugs, prison inmates get them for free
26 February 2019 - The Correctional Service of Canada spent more than $100 million over three-and-a-half years to provide inmates with prescription drugs, including revolutionary but expensive biologic medications that some Canadians living with serious illnesses struggle to afford.
Documents obtained by CTV News through the Access to Information Act show that the drug bill for incarcerated offenders is driven largely by spending on new medications that can effectively cure hepatitis C.
The service also spent $2.1 million between January 2015 and August 2018 on biologic drugs such as Remicade, Humira and Enbrel that have revolutionized treatment for people with serious autoimmune disorders, including arthritis and psoriasis and disabling inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
