Editor:
Every day people across Canada, and right here in Hope, have to choose between putting food on the table and buying their medicines. This leads to what should be manageable conditions escalating into health emergencies, more emergency room visits, and more hospital admissions. This is the true cost of our current broken medication system.
We need universal, single-payer pharmacare.
Among the countries that have universal public health care, Canada is the only one that doesn’t cover prescription medications for all. The cost of essential prescribed medications comes out of our own pockets, and if we can’t afford them we get sicker and end up in hospital - this is no way to live and is very expensive for the health care system we pay for with our taxes. Just think about it, a week of antibiotics or heart medication costs way less than a week (or much more!) in hospital.
A universal single-payer pharmacare plan would save lives, and would save money for all of us, even those of us who don’t yet need prescription medications to survive.
Rachel Tutte
Hope