Canada shouldn’t be smug about U.S. insulin rationing
Bernie Sanders came to Windsor on Sunday. With him was a busload of patients seeking the insulin they need to survive. Another caravan came to London, Ont., earlier this summer and stopped at Banting House, a museum honouring Dr. Fredrick Banting, one of the discoverers of insulin and No. 4 on the list of Greatest Canadians.
Canada loves to celebrate insulin. It’s on our $100 bill. We’ve named elementary schools and even a moon crater after Banting. When we read stories of young Americans literally dying in their 20s from insulin rationing, we shake our heads in disgust. Some might think, “This wouldn’t happen here.”
Yet Canadians should not be so smug.
Yes, compared to the U.S., where a single insulin vial retails for $350plus (U.S.), insulin prices in Canada can seem like a deal. Go to your local pharmacy and a vial will retail for $30 to $50 (Canadian).
When you learn that insulin costs $6 a vial to manufacture, the value of our bargain loses some of its shine. Nonetheless, could be worse right?
Sadly, the shambolic state of pharmacare coverage in this country means insulin rationing is a reality in Canada too.
At T1International, we found that 19 per cent of Canadians with Type 1 diabetes had rationed insulin in the last year; 3 per cent were rationing at least once per week. This rationing has consequences. It makes it more likely people with diabetes will go blind, lose a limb or have their kidneys fail. It makes it more likely they will suffer a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis — a life-threatening condition that can kill.
Yes, Canada has less insulin rationing than the U.S. (25 per cent) and at a lesser intensity, for sure; Americans who rationed often skip doses daily whereas rationing once per week or month was more common here. But Canada is a far cry from countries like the United Kingdom, where there was essentially no insulin rationing reported.
In the U.K., all diabetes supplies, including insulin, are covered by the National Health Service. Such is also the case in many other high income countries.
Even many middle-income countries, like Morocco, cover the cost of insulin for their diabetic population.
When you have $0 in your wallet, $80 is a lot of money to pay for a vial of insulin. Add the price of test strips, needles and other diabetes supplies and you have a recipe for insulin rationing.
After nearly 100 years since Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and John Macleod discovered insulin at the University of Toronto, the time to act is long overdue. This federal election, every Canadian political party platform should include ending insulin rationing in Canada and suppling insulin for all Canadians in need at no out of pocket costs.
If we want to feel superior to our southern neighbours, our deeds must match our words.