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The need to rein in rising health costs has Alberta Health looking at a variety of options to reform its drug coverage system, including resurrecting the idea of an income-based model the NDP previously opposed.

“It’s on the table,” Health Minister Sarah Hoffman told Postmedia in a recent year-end interview. “I have also had people say to me, ‘Why when I’m 64 does my personal drug plan pay for the drug first, but when I turn 65 the government drug plan pays first?’

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“These are all things that are important for us to talk about and find ways to reduce costs, but at the same time we know how important it is for people to be able to access drugs.”

Hoffman’s remarks coincide with the release of new national statistics showing prescription drug programs have become one of the fastest growing cost drivers in the health system, largely due to expensive new hepatitis C treatments and biologic drugs.

In Alberta’s case, the numbers from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show total spending on drugs is projected to hit $4.2 billion this year.