Canadian access and provincial variation

United States: FDA licenses compounds. Prescribing and pharmacy practice are state-regulated. Compounds are prescription-only. Coverage is decided by individual plans, not nationally.

Worth separating two things that post #13 runs together.

Private insurance gaps: some people have private insurance but medication is not covered. Manufacturer assistance programmes are the main resource for cost reduction.

Regional variation in North America: access differs substantially by US state and Canadian province. Postcode is a major determinant of access.

Coming back to post #17, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Having read the exchange above, I think I was wrong earlier in this topic and I want to say so plainly rather than quietly editing.

The correction was fair and I had been repeating something I had not checked carefully enough.

Compounding pharmacies: pharmaceutical compounding of a drug not on the FDA shortage list is substantially constrained. The landscape changed when supply normalised. Current compounding availability is limited.

Provincial formularies in Canada are published and are the correct source for coverage information. Coverage for weight management is less common than for diabetes.

Practical note that does not fit anywhere else. Whatever you conclude from this topic, write down what you did and when. The single most useful thing in your own records is not any individual result; it is that they are dated and consecutive.

Canada: Health Canada licenses compounds. Prescribing is provincial. Compounds are prescription-only. Coverage varies between public and private insurance.

On post #20 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification.

Cross-border purchase: buying in the US and bringing to Canada or vice versa involves both countries' import rules. The medication is legal but crossing borders with it is regulated.

This follows post #22 rather than contradicting it.

Thank you for the correction. I have edited my earlier post with a note rather than silently, so the thread still makes sense to read. The error was mine and it was the kind that comes from remembering a figure instead of looking it up.

Compounding pharmacies: pharmaceutical compounding of a drug not on the FDA shortage list is substantially constrained. The landscape changed when supply normalised. Current compounding availability is limited.

Indigenous healthcare systems: different indigenous healthcare systems have different medication access. Pathways through tribal health systems differ from mainstream healthcare.

United States: FDA licenses compounds. Prescribing and pharmacy practice are state-regulated. Compounds are prescription-only. Coverage is decided by individual plans, not nationally.

Regional variation in North America: access differs substantially by US state and Canadian province. Postcode is a major determinant of access.

Coming back to post #28, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Private insurance gaps: some people have private insurance but medication is not covered. Manufacturer assistance programmes are the main resource for cost reduction.