Study Suggests Drug Costs Could Be Costing Some Canadians Their Health

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 27, 2024 /CNW/ - A new study from Arthritis Research Canada reveals cost is standing in the way of people taking their medications in Canada. The study also identified inequities that disproportionally affect marginalized people.

"Prescription medications are necessary for disease prevention and management, particularly for people with chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis," said Dr. Mary De Vera, a Senior Scientist and Associate Director of Training at Arthritis Research Canada. "However, they are not always taken as prescribed."

Researchers found that almost 1 in 20 respondents, aged 12 years or older, reported cost-related nonadherence and that females had 44 per cent higher odds of reporting cost-related nonadherence than males.

Cost-related nonadherence refers to skipping doses, reducing dosages, delaying refilling prescriptions, or not filling a prescription because of out-of-pocket costs.

Prescription medications are the second most expensive component of health care spending in Canada, costing $43 billion and accounting for 13 per cent of annual health care expenditure in 2021, but they are not universally covered under public health insurance systems.

In 2021, Canadian households paid an estimated $7.4 billion out of pocket for prescription medications, accounting for 17.3 per cent of total prescription drug expenditures, with out-of-pocket spending forecasted to continue to increase at a faster rate than other health expenditures.

The study, which included 233,085 respondents, found that sex, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, education, marital status, home ownership, annual income, and province of residence affected cost-related nonadherence. For example, females, as well as people who identified as Indigenous, Latin American, multiracial, West Asian, Arab, Black, East Asian and Southeast Asian, as well as bisexual, or pansexual showed higher odds of not taking medications as prescribed.

"Taking medication as prescribed is extremely important for people living with chronic diseases like arthritis as it improves quality of life and reduces the risk of serious complications," said Nevena Rebić, a PhD and former Arthritis Research Canada trainee who led the analysis for this project. "This research may be used to inform potential expansion of public drug coverage eligibility, premiums, and cost-sharing policies that address financial barriers to medication adherence in Canada."

Findings from this study have implications for arthritis, as many of the subgroups—such as women and racialized individuals—who experience higher rates of cost-related nonadherence are also disproportionately affected by arthritis.

Want to read the full research paper? Click here.

ABOUT ARTHRITIS RESEARCH CANADA:

Arthritis Research Canada is the largest clinical arthritis research institution in North America. Our mission is to transform the lives of people impacted by arthritis through patient-centred research and engagement. Arthritis Research Canada's scientific director, Dr. Diane Lacaille, leads a team of over 100 researchers, trainees and staff whose life-changing research is creating a future where people living with arthritis have the knowledge and tools to triumph over pain and disability. Arthritis Research Canada is now conducting arthritis research from coast to coast with centres in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and scientists affiliated with eight major Canadian universities: University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Calgary, Université Laval, McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke and Dalhousie University. Arthritis Research Canada is leading research aimed at preventing arthritis, facilitating early diagnosis, finding new and better treatments, and improving quality of life.

SOURCE Arthritis Research Canada