XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   From: 37%@ont.ca   
      
   Does this surprise anyone who's had to pay for prescriptions over the last 10   
   years or so?  We   
   have a rightwing government that puts Olympic Games and paying legal bills for   
   convicted   
   fraudsters over our healthcare system.  And now we have another rightwing   
   government in Ottawa   
   about to cut our funding even more.  For god's sake, BCers - vote for your own   
   sake and your   
   own health next time around . . . .   
   ___________________________________   
      
   CBC News - Jan 16, 2012   
      
   British Columbians least able to afford prescription drugs   
   A new study published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says   
   of all Canadians,   
   British Columbians are least able to afford prescription drugs.   
   The study relied on data provided by 5,732 Canadians. People were asked if the   
   cost of   
   prescription drugs ever led them to stop medical treatment.   
      
   It found the people who are most likely to be unable to afford prescription   
   medication are   
   already in poor health, with no drug insurance and living in B.C, says lead   
   author Michael Law,   
   of the University of British Columbia.   
      
   "While we found 1 in 10 people across Canada had trouble with drug   
   affordability, we found the   
   number in B.C. was just under 1 in 6 -- so 17 per cent of people in British   
   Columbia."   
      
   Law said the results took researchers by surprise.   
      
   "We weren't expecting that B.C. would be higher because we have a drug   
   coverage program —   
   Pharmacare," said Law.   
      
   But, he says, Pharmacare's high deductible could partially be to blame.   
      
   "Those costs might have something to do with it but it might also have to do   
   with a lot of   
   other things in B.C. -- like high personal debt," said Law.   
      
   "[It] stands to reason if you are spending more on housing and food than other   
   people you are   
   going to have trouble affording the other things you have to buy, like   
   medicines."   
      
   The leader of B.C.'s official opposition says it's no surprise British   
   Columbians have more   
   trouble paying for prescription drugs than people in the rest of Canada.   
      
   NDP leader Adrian Dix says the B.C. government has put the squeeze on the poor   
   and   
   middle-income earners.   
      
   "I think [this is] recognition of high deductibles in our Pharmacare plans. A   
   recognition of   
   high levels of inequality and just how vulnerable people are when they don't   
   have extra or   
   employee-related insurance."   
      
   Dix says British Columbians pay 40 per cent more for generic drugs than people   
   in Ontario and   
   Quebec.   
      
      
   *******************************************************   
   "We CAN look after each other better than we do today.   
   We CAN have a fiscally responsible government.   
   We CAN have a strong economy; greater equality; a clean environment.   
   We CAN be a force for peace in the world."                      - Jack Layton   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)