What I will say is that the way people get sick has changed. When medicare was founded and prescription drugs weren't included, people were breaking their bones, having heart attacks, going to hospitals, being patched up and sent home. A lot has happened since the late 1960s and the 1970s. Now when Canadians get sick, they get sick with chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis.
All of these chronic conditions require chronic medications. Rather than just taking antibiotics for seven to 10 days, people are now using prescriptions in other ways. Many people need medications every single day. My patients and patients across the country are facing bigger cost issues and more medically necessary prescriptions. Our insurance system needs to evolve to capture these changes in the way Canadians are getting ill.