You are one smooth operator.


>Have I mentioned my second home near Banff? (batting eyes)
>
>LOL
>
>
>>Now to find myself a Canadian to marry so I can move up there when I retire... :o) I think it is time that Canada bought the U.S. southern states... :o)
>>
>>
>>
>>>>SNIP
>>>>>
>>>>>Canadian prescirption drugs are subsidized by Canadian gov't. The first day USA allows import of them, Canada will prohibit export. They are not willing to subsidize whole America, are they?
>>>>>There is another side in this issue. Pharmaceuticals are still an industry that has manufacturing on US soil. Forcing them out could be considered as a worthy goal in some quarters, but fortunately current administration opposes it.
>>>>
>>>>You are wrong, Ed. The Canadian government does not subsidize drug costs for people.
>>>>
>>>>What the Canadian government did do, as I understood it, was to set a "cap" on drug price increases in return for giving drug companies extra time for each of their patents.
>>>>
>>>>I also understand that most of the drugs sold in Canada are actually imported and that Canadian manufacturing is largely limited to generic equivalents.
>>>>
>>>>I also seriously doubt that there's anything 'governmental' that is holding the pharmaceutical firms from manufacturing in China. I more suspect big worries about intellectual property rights are the main cause. Why would the current Administration oppose their moving manufacturing to China when many other (formerly) "vital industries" have done so for some time now?
>>>
>>>Here is a small piece from the Q&A of OHIP. How is this not subsidising drug costs for people? Ok, it's not technically the "Canadian Government", but government is government after all.
>>>
>>>What happens if I need prescription drugs?
>>>
>>>You may receive your prescription drugs at a small cost to you if you are eligible for the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program.
>>>
>>>How much do I pay?
>>>
>>>You may be asked to pay up to $2 per prescription if you are:
>>>
>>>a single senior with an annual net income of less than $16,018
>>>a senior couple with a combined annual net income of less than $24,175
>>>receiving general welfare benefits or family benefits
>>>receiving home care professional services
>>>a resident of a nursing home, home for the aged, home for special care
>>>a Trillium Drug Program beneficiary
>>>You will be asked to pay the first $100 in prescription drug costs each
>>>and then up to $6.11 for each prescription after that if you are:
>>>
>>>a single senior with an annual net income of more than $16,018
>>>a senior couple with a combined annual net income of more than $24,175
>>>If you are aged 65 or more, you only need your Health Card to show your
>>>eligibility for Ontario Drug Benefits when you go for prescription drugs.
>>>