Prescription Drug Prices in
Canada and the United States—Part 3
Retail Price Distribution
Results
The number of pharmacies in each area that gave meaningful responses was: Washington: 37, British Columbia: 33, North Dakota and Minnesota: 38, Manitoba: 36, New York: 38, Ontario: 41, a total of 223. There were 660 observations ( table 1). (During the interviews, 669 observations were collected but nine were such extreme outliers that they were discarded because it was probable that they had been recorded in error.) The means and standard deviations of the samples are shown in table 2. Table 3 shows the lowest and highest price for each area, reported in US dollars. These prices include the dispensing fee but not any delivery charge.
Table 1: Number of observations for each drug and area
|
Celebrex® 200mg |
Lipitor® 40 mg |
Paxil® 20 mg |
Total |
|
|
Washington |
37 |
36 |
37 |
110 |
|
British Columbia |
33 |
33 |
33 |
99 |
|
North Dakota & Minnesota |
38 |
36 |
37 |
111 |
|
Manitoba |
35 |
35 |
35 |
105 |
|
New York |
38 |
38 |
38 |
114 |
|
Ontario |
40 |
40 |
41 |
121 |
|
TOTAL |
221 |
218 |
221 |
660 |
Table 2: Means and standard deviations of the samples (US dollars)
|
|
Celebrex® 200 mg |
Lipitor® 40 mg |
Paxil® 20 mg |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Mean |
Standard deviation (coefficient of |
Mean |
Standard deviation (coefficient of |
Mean |
Standard deviation (coefficient of |
|
Washington |
$86.26 |
$5.66 (6.56%) |
$110.01 |
$8.97 (8.15%) |
$82.47 |
$3.86 (4.67%) |
|
British Columbia |
$33.17 |
$2.37 (7.13%) |
$52.83 |
$3.50 (6.62%) |
$40.75 |
$2.54 (6.23%) |
|
North Dakota & Minnesota |
$78.08 |
$5.70 (7.30%) |
$107.75 |
$7.03 (6.53%) |
$78.63 |
$6.08 (7.74%) |
|
Manitoba |
$32.36 |
$1.60 (4.96%) |
$52.43 |
$1.52 (2.90%) |
$39.80 |
$2.00 (5.02%) |
|
New York |
$88.57 |
$7.59 (8.57%) |
$117.69 |
$5.44 (4.62%) |
$85.06 |
$4.39 (5.16%) |
|
Ontario |
$34.82 |
$1.96 (5.64%) |
$55.52 |
$2.09 (3.76%) |
$42.62 |
$2.03 (4.75%) |
Table 3: Low and high prices (US dollars, 30 doses)
|
|
Celebrex 200mg |
Lipitor 40 mg |
Paxil 20 mg |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Low |
High |
Low |
High |
Low |
High |
|
Washington |
$75.00 |
$92.59 |
$97.99 |
$121.58 |
$75.00 |
$91.71 |
|
British Columbia |
$29.82 |
$38.38 |
$44.68 |
$59.76 |
$37.19 |
$46.64 |
|
North Dakota & Minnesota |
$67.95 |
$93.05 |
$92.95 |
$124.95 |
$68.95 |
$96.50 |
|
Manitoba |
$29.65 |
$37.18 |
$48.67 |
$55.60 |
$36.11 |
$45.97 |
|
New York |
$76.68 |
$97.99 |
$103.89 |
$124.99 |
$76.97 |
$95.59 |
|
Ontario |
$30.76 |
$37.84 |
$51.03 |
$59.99 |
$38.77 |
$46.22 |
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