ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY MEDIA CAMPAIGNS ON SENIORS PERCEPTIONS OF REFERENCE-BASED PRICING POLICY

Introduction of a cost-containment program, reference-based pricing (R BP), to British Columbia's Pharmacare system illuminates the competing perspectives and agendas of government and the pharmaceutical industr y when implementing health care funding policy affecting seniors. We e xamine the intensive public relations campaigns and media messages use d by these stakeholders, exploring the impact they had on seniors' vie ws about RBP. Whereas Pharmacare stressed the fiscal merits of RBP, in dustry focused on the possible threat to public health and attempted t o rally seniors and health care providers against it. A survey of seni ors shortly after the policy's introduction indicates much skepticism about the anti-RBP information received from industry and moderate sup port for the policy, which was seen as good stewardship of tax dollars . The pharmaceutical industry's campaign was unsuccessful because Phar macare's messages resonated more effectively with seniors' views on pu blic health policy.