Pharmacare Changes a Bitter Pill for the Poor

Check out this interesting op-ed by Paul O’Hara and Stella Lord about the impact of discontinuing the Extended Pharmacare program for low-income households in Nova Scotia.

“Even more serious, however, is that the demise of Extended Pharmacare will likely have negative financial and health repercussions for people on very low incomes, most of whom are already stressed and under extreme financial pressure.”

We know that in low-income households, the food budget is often the most flexible, but the potential for increased costs for medications could put some Nova Scotians at greater risk of food insecurity. For more information, see our Report on 2012 Participatory Food Costing.