“Medicare saved my daughter. Pharmacare will keep her alive,” says father. What is your pharmacare story?
Scott MacMillan watched his baby in diabetic ketoacidosis be airlifted from an emergency room in Fredericton to Halifax in 2022. He had a message for voters before this year’s federal election. He told CBC readers he was voting for pharmacare.
“Medicare saved my daughter. Pharmacare will keep her alive,” wrote MacMillan about his baby daughter Rosemary.
“Type 1 diabetes can cost up to $18,306 per year out-of-pocket. Millions of Canadians ration insulin, cut pills in half or go without medication because they can’t afford it,” added MacMillan.
Compared to the rest of Canada, more New Brunswickers are not taking their medicine as prescribed, according to a Environics Poll commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition. Of the New Brunswickers polled, 24 per cent said they are not filling or renewing a prescription, or they are making it last longer through skipping doses or splitting pills due to cost.
What is your pharmacare story?
The Canadian Health Coalition wants to know your pharmacare story. How has access to medicine improved your life? How has not being able to afford medicine affected you?
Inspired by the stories shared by patient advocate Bill Swan’s Faces of Pharmacare and in Hoskins’ blueprint for pharmacare, we want to hear your story.
It is your story that could convince a province or territory to get to work on inking a pharmacare deal without delay. It is your story that could compel the federal government to keep their pharmacare promise and add more medicines to the pharmacare list.
Ben’s story is what motivates me to fight for pharmacare.
When Ben shared his story with Faces of Pharmacare, he was a teenager living with his mother in Nova Scotia. His story is a common one of children who must watch their parents struggle to afford their medication.
“My diabetes has always been hard on my family, and I felt guilty growing up. I know better, but I often reuse my syringes, skip tests or hold off on an injection a little longer to make my insulin last. I’ve ended up in hospital a few times in the last year trying to stretch it a bit too far,” shared Ben.
Ben was worried what was going to happen to him when he turns 21 and his insulin and other supplies to keep him alive are no longer covered on his mother’s plan.
“My condition will never go away. With the economy the way it is, I feel the likelihood of me finding a good job with benefits is pretty low. Type 1 diabetes means no hope of private coverage, how will I cope?” worried Ben.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are among the provinces and territories that have yet to sign a pharmacare deal with the federal government.
Rosemary and Ben and their parents deserve pharmacare now.
