One in ten Canadians find getting their prescription drugs as directed unaffordable, state researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto after analysis.

"Our results clearly demonstrate that cost-related problems in accessing prescription drugs are disproportionately borne by the poor, the sick and the uninsured," says Michael Law, Assistant Professor at UBC's School of Population and Public Health. "More than one in four Canadians without health insurance are forced, financially, to go without the prescription drugs they need."
Prescription drugs fall outside the Canada Health Act, resulting in a "patchwork" of drug coverage that leaves two-thirds of Canadian households paying all or part of their prescription drug costs. The Canadian Institute for Health Information estimated these out-of-pocket payments totaled $4.6 billion in 2010.
The results of the UBC study show that individuals without drug insurance are 4.5 times more likely to avoid taking prescribed medications because of cost. Similarly, Canadians with low incomes are 3.3 times more likely to not use prescription drugs because they cannot afford them.
The study also shows that Canadians who reported fair or poor health status did not take their prescribed medications 2.6 times more often than those who reported good or excellent health; similarly, those with chronic conditions were 1.6 times more likely to not take their medicines as directed due to cost.
Provincially, those living in British Columbia were more than twice as likely to report not being able to afford their prescription drugs than those living in other large provinces. This is a cause for concern, says Law.
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"As the Provincial Premiers meet in Victoria this week, they should consider expanding and improving public coverage for prescription drugs to reduce the influence of cost on whether or not Canadians can afford their prescription drugs."
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