MONTREAL—Nearly one million Canadians opted for emptier grocery bags and colder homes in order to pay for prescription drugs in 2016, suggests a nationwide study on the topic published Tuesday. The review was conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto. The study, published in the online version of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, indicated that 968,000 Canadians reduced their spending on basic necessities to pay for medication — with 730,000 cutting their food bills and another 238,000 skimping on heating. Quebec had the lowest percentage of people (3.7 per cent) not filling a prescription due to the costs. “We tend to think that people in Quebec have better coverage for medicines than elsewhere in Canada,” said Law, the lead author of the study.

Source: thestar February 13, 2018 21:14 UTC