Drug plans in
I had thought health care in Canada was free, but then I found out here, that you can see the doctor for free, but have to pay for medicines. Which makes Type 1 Diabetes probably one of the worst illnesses to have under a system like that.
Is no progress being made, politically, on this? it seems incredibly unfair.
For my basic needs to survive, insulin, test strips and such, the basic provincial plan here in Quebec is not too expensive at all, easily affordable even for those on welfare. But not having a GCM on the list of supported devices is really a shame, since it would actually be cheaper than what test strips cost retail, and provide 24/7 coverage, so actually the taxpayer is paying more to get less. That's what's criminal to me. Also, just think of the peace of mind a parent with a type 1 child would have with a smartphone app that would notify them if the values drop or get too high while their kid is asleep.
Another big problem for me is not having access to GLP-1 as a type 1. I used to be able to get it on my work's private plan, that didn't care if I was type 1 or 2 (Victoza and later, Trulicity), but on provincial they are really sticklers for what drugs you are prescribed and even after trying to get a waiver from my doctor to say "he needs this drug to keep his sugars under control", they didn't listen. So I'm taking Ozempic now until my free pens run out, and will try to get on metformin afterwards which apparently also increases endogenous GLP-1 production by 25%, according to my endo. And metformin is of course ridiculously cheap and should pass the government bean counters as a result.
I also worry that some new miracle smart insulin comes out and it will take years to be able to get it in Canada, and then more years to get it covered on insurance, and it will surely be mega-expensive. But everyone will want it, since it will take out the guesswork of having to check your sugars and then estimate doses.