NBHC Population Health
May 02, 2018
As the federal government considers a national pharmacare plan, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions estimates up to 1,000 Canadians die from heart disease and diabetes each year because they can’t afford their prescription medication. The report, which aims to support the case for universal drug coverage, also estimates that a lack of prescription drug coverage contributes annually to:
- 370-640 premature deaths due to ischemic heart disease;
- 270-420 premature deaths of working-age Canadians with diabetes; and
- 550-670 premature deaths from all causes among working-age Canadians.