Recession and Health

Heard today the Canadian Medical Association says some Canadians particularly those on low incomes are skipping medications to save money.

Duh... what do they expect. Of course when times are tough people make choices. Isn't that a nature of society.

REgardless of the causes of the recession or economic downturn it concerns me when relatively well off members of our society bemoan those less well off for making normal decision on how they allocate scarce resources. Maybe if our physicians supported pharmacare and prescribed only generic medications wherever possible then lower income residents would not have to make such choices.

I recently met a person whose has huge economic challenges (skips meals regularly to pay rent and is forced to eat lots of pasta rather than fresh vegetables and fruit which are too expensive) caused by a woefully inadequate safety net in our province. I suppose the Canadian Medical Association (and like organizations) will bemoan people like her making these choices.

Maybe if we believed in (and had) a more egalitarian society people would not be forced to make choices like the ones mentioned by the CMA. Maybe in federal and provincial authorities were not so paranoid about raising taxes, we could create a more caring country.