Question

Sample questions for Econ 3308-W 2020

7. The lack of public prescription drug coverage in our health care system makes Canada an international outlier, and erodes access to critical medications – particularly for Canadians who aren’t covered by extended health insurance through their jobs. Millions of Canadians have to pay for prescription drugs out-of-pocket. And the evidence suggests one in ten Canadians are not filling prescriptions because of costs, including more than 26% of those without extended health insurance. Comment.

Answer 1

Canada is a developed economy and has a very good healthcare system but there is one shortcoming which is that medications which are essential are not covered. The reason behind this shortcoming is that when the Canadian healthcare system was designed and implemented in the 1960s, prescription was not under focus. But however, today the costs that Canadians bear for drugs is very high and most of them have no option but to pay for these out of their own pockets. This creates a trade off situation for them as they have to choose between paying for these medicines or purchasing other basic essentials.

Many Canadians who are employed in low paying jobs find it hard to pay for these drugs and medication.Surveys have shown that they either split their medication or completely avoid it. A government agency's results showed that under a national program for this healthcare where one single entity would purchase medications in bulk would reduce the prescription cost in the country by almost 4 billion Candian dollars. This calls for a change in the healthcare system where even the medication costs needs to be included in the coverage.