The health cost of being poor – CBC

Feb 03, 2020

Canadians pride themselves on having a health-care system for everyone. But an editorial published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) says the system is failing people with low income.

This happens in several ways, say the authors of the editorial, Dr. Andrew Boozary, executive director of health and social policy at University Health Network in Toronto, and Dr. Andreas Laupacis, CMAJ’s editor in chief.

First, publicly funded health care in Canada covers only certain services. Prescription drugs are inconsistently funded in Canada. Coverage of physiotherapy is almost non-existent. Home care coverage is inadequate. So is counselling for mental health problems.

For many Canadians, employee benefits make up the shortfall. Those with lower incomes do without simply because they can’t afford them. When they do have coverage, disadvantaged patients with limited financial resources use fewer preventive and outpatient services than those with higher incomes.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/the-health-cost-of-being-poor-1.5449683