We don't avoid costs by not having this program; we just downstream costs. In the case of my patients now who can't afford to pay for their medications out of pocket, who don't have an insurance plan, their diseases aren't going away; they're just being left untreated. For example, I have patients with diabetes who can't afford their oral medications, such as metformin. Their sugars aren't going away on their own; they're continuing to cause chronic health conditions and increasing their risk for heart attacks and strokes. Rather than paying for cost-effective medications now, we're waiting for these folks to develop heart attacks to present to the emergency department. Then we'll pay for incredibly expensive treatment and they'll suffer the health consequences.
Evidence of meeting #74 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was system.
A recording is available from Parliament.