Raman Kumar says a federal plan to cover diabetes medications and supplies would be 鈥減henomenal鈥� because she鈥檒l finally stop worrying about how to pay for her care.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so expensive,鈥� she said of replacing a $100 sensor for her continuous glucose monitor every 10 days.
鈥淢y extended health coverage through my husband鈥檚 work doesn鈥檛 even cover that,鈥� Kumar said. 鈥淟ast month I skipped half the month because you just don鈥檛 want to go and spend that money. It鈥檚 $100 every time you walk into a pharmacy.鈥�
Kumar has Type 1.5 diabetes, due to symptoms associated with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
鈥淚 take Metformin, which is prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, and insulin before I go to bed, which is typically prescribed for Type 1,鈥� she said from Surrey, B.C.
She鈥檚 concerned that her symptoms, including dizziness, will worsen if she doesn鈥檛 maintain her unaffordable care.
On Thursday, federal Health Minister Mark Holland tabled a bill that paves the way for a universal drug plan, starting with coverage for birth control and diabetes drugs and supplies. The pharmacare deal is a key component of the supply-and-confidence deal between the governing Liberals and the NDP. Alberta and Quebec have said they want to opt out in favour of spending federal money on their own plans.
Holland did not provide details about coverage for supplies but told a news conference in Ottawa that diabetes patients have enough to worry about besides the cost of their care and that some resort to reusing syringes, which he said is 鈥渘ot right.鈥�
鈥淲hat happens to that person who doesn鈥檛 take their medication? They wind up, potentially, with an amputation, with a stroke, with a heart attack. They walk out, potentially, with potential kidney problems,鈥漢e said.
Doctors and advocacy groups hailed the plan as they wait for specifics on coverage in Canada, which is alone among countries with a universal health-care system in not including medications.
Dr. Tom Elliott, medical director of a diabetes clinic in Vancouver, said one of his patients was hospitalized last year because he could not afford to buy medication after paying for groceries.
鈥淏etween putting food on the table and taking his medications he chose food on the table. And the next thing you know he鈥檚 in hospital, almost dying from severe diabetes complications,鈥� he said.
The endocrinologist said that while British Columbia has the country鈥檚 best coverage for low-income patients, many do not meet the deductible criteria so they skip their drugs or don鈥檛 take them at all.
鈥淪o what do you do? You skimp and you skip or you just don鈥檛 afford them at all. It鈥檚 terrible.鈥�
Elliott said that along with insulin and other drugs, continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps are essential and that coverage for these items would make a life-saving difference to patients who will have 鈥渇air and just treatment.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 optimistic that they鈥檙e covered. And if they鈥檙e not then really it鈥檚 despair and we鈥檙e back at square one. You have to cover them. They鈥檙e life-changing, difference-making, game-changing devices.鈥�
Diabetes Canada called the plan a 鈥渕onumental step鈥� that would enhance the well-being of more than four million people living with diabetes, adding it will continue advocating for full and timely access to medications and devices.
Jessica Diniz, president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, said every province has limitations on coverage and that the average out-of-pocket cost for Type 1 diabetespatients is about $18,000 a year.
While continuous glucose monitors help avoid complications, Diniz said a price tag of between $3,000 and $4,000 means many people must do without them, and the replacement cost of sensors every few days is another deterrent.
Diniz, whose group advocates for those with Type 1 diabetes, said researchers are trying to determine why Canada has a higher incidence rate of that condition than some other countries.
鈥淣orthern Hemisphere countries seem to have higher rates. We鈥檙e looking at Vitamin D, the food we eat. The rate of diagnosis is growing at four per cent a year compared to three per cent in the U.S. That doesn鈥檛 sound big but it adds up and it鈥檚 significant,鈥� said Diniz,adding that the average age for diagnosis in children is 10.
鈥淏ut I鈥檝e met families whose children were 18 months or two years old. It鈥檚 the whole family that鈥檚 going through this.鈥�
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