Evidence of meeting #123 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was insulin.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
As an Individual
I do. I just had to reapply and I am very thankful that this time I got it my first go-round. The last time I had to fight for it.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
We heard that originally 80% who were previously accepted began to be rejected last year, and then there has been a reapplication, and of that, I think 58% were approved, but still 42% were rejected.
Ms. Lavergne.
As an Individual
My doctor won't fill mine out. She said that I won't get it because I am diabetic.
I had it before for other reasons, the cancer.
This 14-hour idea, are you guys kidding me? It's 24-7, 365 days a year.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Yes, and I think the amount is $1,500, which when I hear all the testimony of how much it costs to live every day, it's not the right amount to cover what you're experiencing.
One of the things I'm interested in is the doctor shortage. I've been watching across the country and I have seen incidents in Cape Breton where they're missing 52 emergency room physicians and nobody has a family doctor and they don't have a vascular surgeon. If you cut an artery there, you die or lose a limb. In my own riding 20% have no doctors, and it's going to be 50% next year when everybody retires because of the tax changes brought in by Finance Minister Morneau.
We're seeing this across the country and your circumstances don't seem different. Could you make a recommendation to the government on what we could do to try to fill that need?
As an Individual
I think there needs to be a little more incentive to come to the northern communities. Charlene and I are still a distance away. We're still in northern Ontario.
Despite getting the early notice from my doctor because I just happened to be there when he made his choice, I went over a year without a family physician after mine retired. I had the applications going in to the doctors already, and it took me a year of badgering before I was able to get a doctor.
That's bad because I get to see my endocrinologist twice a year and that's it. If anything happened in that time, I was having to go to walk-in clinics. I would not go to emerg; I went to the same walk-in clinic where I was able to build that rapport with that physician. They understood that I knew what I was talking about, because if doctors don't realize that, I end up getting poor care because they think they know more, and they say it's just my diabetes and I'm not taking care of myself.
I know my diabetes is not well right now because I have an underlying issue that's making it impossible for me to take care of myself.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Ms. Lavergne, do you ever ration your insulin because you can't afford it?
As an Individual
Oh yes, I've done that. I do it all the time.
I have to say, though, I have managed to beg enough that I'm doing pretty well for right now, but I never know when that's going to change. It depends on the mood of the doctor.
The other problem I have is that I also ration pills. I reuse needles, which just makes me ill. What do you do? You reuse the needles, reuse lancets and you're all alone. I'm all alone. I have nobody to help me. I live alone. My husband's dead. I don't have anybody to help me. If I have a problem in the middle of the night, I'm going to die. There's nobody.
Nobody understands. My favourite is when you do go to the doctor at an urgent care clinic. I love it. “Oh, another diabetic. Here we go.” They don't see past the fat anyway.
There are four things we need. We need affordable housing. We need to be able to afford our medications. We have real problems with food insecurity. I can't afford to eat. I don't know about you guys, but my budget to eat every month is $89. I don't know how you guys do it, but I'm telling you, it's fun.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that it's difficult outside the urban areas. I can't get around without a car. I can't do anything.
What we need from the government.... I just don't want to be alone anymore. I feel I have given my country everything I needed to give. I gave you three beautiful daughters who are not criminals. They are taxpayers. They're struggling. I have grandchildren. I've always done everything I needed to do, and now I just feel like I've been abandoned. I feel like I'm not getting the help I need.
The doctors I do see don't have the time or energy to listen or care.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
I want to introduce our new presenter, Karen Kemp. Karen is a diabetes life coach practitioner working in partnership with Diabetes Canada. She's also an event planner for World Diabetes Day and a director with the Diabetes Action network.
We have your advance notes. We've distributed those.
We're just going to continue with questions.
Mr. Aubin, you have seven minutes.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank both of you for being here this morning.
I'd like to welcome the three witnesses. Ms. Kemp, I'm including you in the discussion, even though you didn't have an opportunity to make your presentation.
I often see committee meetings televised on CPAC where they hear from ministers. However, if there is one committee that deserved to be broadcast on television, it's this one. Indeed, your testimonies are direct and touching, and they shed light on a little-known reality. I have the impression that many Canadians who, like me, don't have diabetes, make themselves feel better by thinking that this disease is regularly and easily treated with insulin. However, this study is allowing us to discover a completely different reality, which your testimony is expressing so well.
That said, the committee is meeting today to make specific recommendations to the government so that it can move things forward in your favour.
There are two questions I would like you to answer in turn. The first concerns the funding of health services. As you know, health care is largely managed by the provinces. Do you think that a better transfer of funds from the federal government to the provinces would mean better services for your communities?
As an Individual
Only if we receive it. It's all well and good to say that we'll be given money, but if I don't see it, it's not worth it. I need help right now. I can't wait.
As an Individual
The money is given to the LHINs and then it gets divided. That still stays in Ottawa and Toronto, the bulk of it.
Where Charlene and I are, we need more doctors. We need more specialists. We need more access. I don't know how you transfer that down so that it actually gets disbursed equally. Actually, it wouldn't be disbursed equally. We need more in the areas that are hit more. We need better access. We need better solutions.
NDP
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
All right. That's one possibility. The federal government is transferring more money to the provinces in the hope that they will make the best possible use of it.
Another solution might be more direct, and I'd like to know what you think about it.
According to Statistics Canada, 30% of Canadians living with diabetes like you don't have insurance to cover blood glucose monitors. They don't have prescription drug coverage, either. Isn't it high time that, after putting in place a universal health care system, we add a universal pharmacare system?
NDP
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
You'd see that money because you'd be able to submit your own claims.
NDP
As an Individual
Yes, I do. I totally agree. At this moment, I am married and my husband, thankfully, has a job with insurance, but I still have to pay a large sum. They pay 80%. When you look at how much medication I'm taking, that 20% is still a heck of a lot of money that most people don't have to pay. I am lucky because I'm in this situation and I can pay that, but it's still a heck of a lot. That's taking away from everything else I have to do to live healthy and maintain that health so that I'm not being a drain.
I'm draining myself and essentially killing myself working so hard to try to stay healthy for the sake of everyone else. My daughter is 16. Like Charlene said, I want to see her grow up, man. She's 16 and I've been at this for 36 years.
What else can I do? What else do I have to give? The stress is just immense. We need help. We've been suffering in silence.
As an Individual
For a long time, yes, to the detriment of our own mental health and that's hard too.
As an Individual
You know what? I'm terrified because I'm going to be 65, and at 65 they're not going to pay for the special insulin I need, the tailored stuff. They won't pay for needles again. Sixty-five isn't going to be good for me. They're going to claw back my CPP down to.... I'm going to live in a cardboard box underneath the Oshawa railway tracks because there's just nothing. There's nothing for us. There's no support and there's nobody to talk to. We're always alone.