Neighbourhood Pharmacies has provided a preliminary submission to the Ontario Ministry of Finance in response to their open consultation on Preferred Provider Networks (PPNs) in the Employer-Sponsored Drug Insurance Sector.
As validated by our members, we believe that PPN design can place limits on informed patient autonomy of choice and to meaningfully address this, the root causes that constrain pharmacies the sustainability of the sector must be considered. We recommend some level government intervention around optimal PPN design that focuses on root causes but we feel that it may be premature to call for particular regulation at this stage without further exploratory work.
We have noted that numerous key stakeholders have been overlooked in this preliminary discussion, and their interconnected roles significantly influence the delivery of pharmacy benefits. Our submission outlines some of these additional considerations necessary for an evidence-informed, comprehensive consultative process before any government intervention is determined. Finally, we have outlined some of the key elements that future policy development should address.