After America, Canadians face the second-highest drug costs in the industrialised world. The result has left many in Canada choosing between meeting their basic needs or complying with the doctors’ orders. Hassan Yussuff of the Canadian Labour Congress said, “If you’re not fortunate enough to work for a sizeable employer that has the resources to provide you with benefits, you’re left on your own”.
Danielle Martin, a Toronto doctor, said the gap was partly because Canada’s system was designed in the 1960s when prescription medication was less of a focus for care. “It’s a big issue, a big problem,” He then went on to tell Sanders in a recent podcast “I have patients who take their pills every other day, or who take them for a few weeks and then have to wait until the cheque comes in to fill it again.”
According to estimates from the government, about 700,000 Canadians have no prescription drug coverage at all, while another 3.6 million are believed to have coverage that falls short of allowing them to afford medications.