UBC study found Canadians cut spending on food and heating to afford medication

A recent study conducted at the University of British Columbia found that over 900,000 Canadians reduced their spending on food and heat in order to pay for prescription drugs in 2016.

The research team consisted of members from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, McMaster University, and The University of Toronto.

The study pulled data from Statistics Canada Canadian Community Health Survey and found that over 730,000 Canadians reduced spending on food and an addition 238,000 cut back spending on home heating.

“We knew lots of Canadians were having trouble paying for medication. Now we know they are trading off other everyday necessities in order to pay for prescription drugs,” said study lead author Michael Law, Canada Research Chair in Access to Medicines and associate professor in UBC’s school of population and public health.

It is estimated that 1.69 million Canadians did not fill prescriptions, skipped doses or otherwise did not take medication as prescribed due to the high cost.

“Despite Canada’s reputation of having a universal healthcare system, the fact that so many people cannot afford their medicines is a sign that people are falling through the cracks,” Law said.

Researchers also found that not taking medication can have consequences for other parts of the health-care system.

An estimated 374,000 Canadians reported using extra health-care services because of the unaffordable medication costs. Of those Canadians, 300,000 reported visiting a doctor again and an additional 93,000 Canadians have visited the emergency room.

The study found that the unaffordable drugs went to treat a variety of health conditions such as depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

Law concluded that policy issues such as structural barriers in the health-care system and lack of coverage are likely to play a role in the unaffordable cost.

“These results suggest better coverage for these groups would lead to fewer Canadians being unable to afford their medicines and likely improve their health as a result,” said Law.