First, thank you very much for the question and for bringing this area into focus.
I agree. It is critical that patients have access to the medications and devices they need.
For type 1 diabetes, this is a matter of life or death. They don't have a choice. Think of insulin as being like air. They need insulin to stay alive, so to answer your question of what happens to the individual when they can't afford their medications anymore, they ration them. They don't take enough. That leads to worse health outcomes and more complications, and that actually costs our health care system more money later down the road.
It's important to think about the young person entering the workforce who no longer has coverage under their parents' plan and is choosing their profession based on the benefit programs that are being offered, which can cover their medications.
It's critical that Canadians living with type 1 diabetes have access to medications to control their diabetes, which will eventually prevent long-term complications.