New report criticizes B.C. government funding for medications

Oh, there you go. Good job. In just three months time, this three-year old has come so far and her family says it’s all thanks to this we were able to get her on Revestive. And we just saw this amazing growth start happening. She started gaining weight. She started gaining heights. Christine Langley’s granddaughter, who we are not identifying, is 1 of 32 children in the province living with short bowel syndrome, a rare condition where a large portion of her gut is missing. Also missing here in BC his coverage for the medication required to treat it. For me, it would have cost out of pocket. I was very lucky that I was able to get Rivesta for Nova on a compassionate basis. Definitely. I feel like the government needs to step up. According to the BC Medication Coverage Report, the province is grossly underfunding public coverage for medications compared to the rest of the country. Says between 2018 and 2023, the BC government rejected coverage for 31 critical medications that are approved by most provinces. In comparison, it says Ontario and Alberta only declined coverage for two to three of the same medicines. It’s just heartbreaking to see why British Columbia is so unfair to its population. The report also exposes BC has the lowest per capita medication spending in the country. At just $257 per person, well below the Canadian average of $442, we need to hear from the Ministry of Health as to why they keep doing this. All they say is that it didn’t meet their criteria. We have funded the Therapeutics Initiative Fund an evidence based process and make decisions based on the evidence, not on politics but on the evidence. The argument is covering the cost of these medications helps patients keep their conditions under control. Ultimately, lightening the load on the health care system as a whole did y’all go for work. This three-year old is living proof and the hope is one day others will be as lucky because it’s a life changer. It really is. Kylie Stanton Global News.