All Canadians Deserve World-Class Health Care. Funding Makes it Possible.

Tucker began experiencing debilitating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms at age 21—severe swelling, excruciating pain and relentless fatigue. It took two years, after worsening symptoms and a second blood test, for Tucker to finally receive the diagnosis he desperately needed.
“My time from pain to diagnosis took too long. We need the healthcare system to be more responsive and attentive to patients—and patients should be involved in making this happen.”

“ALS transforms the lives not just of patients but entire families. At that awful moment of diagnosis my wife said: ”we just got told WE have ALS”. How to maintain some life outside this dreadful disease is perhaps the greatest challenge the entire family faces. That is why we all desperately need continued investments in health research to help find a cure.”

Jaqueline’s journey with asthma began with an unrelenting chronic cough. Seeking answers, she visited her doctor, underwent spirometry, and was eventually diagnosed with asthma. Managing asthma has been a daily challenge, but Jaqueline has been very proactive. She has trialed various asthma medications, takes antihistamines to manage her allergies, and continues to monitor her triggers. She remains vigilant about air quality and notices immediate respiratory relief in less urbanized areas. As she often says, “We are very aware that we need to drink clean water, but people are only now seeing we also need to breathe clean air too.”

Jaqueline leads a highly active life, teaching fitness classes and working as a personal trainer. “I want to be as close to normal as possible,” she says, explaining her determination to not let asthma control her life. Her approach to managing asthma extends beyond medication to include a careful diet, regular exercise, and diligent avoidance of environmental triggers.

“I have been living with type 1 diabetes for more than 2 decades and have witnessed incredible advancements in technology for diabetes management. A few months into using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), my HbA1c decreased 1.5%. Visualizing glucose trends and predictions helped me address imminent hyper-and hypoglyemia. As I don’t always experience symptoms associated with hyperglycemia, I often wonder how much damage this has created over the years, and what complications I will face as I age. 

Current eligibility criteria in Ontario for coverage of CGMs is still restrictive. Many people like myself, who don’t have adequate private insurance with their employment or school, are left to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket each year. 

Canada is the birthplace of insulin, a life-sustaining treatment. While it helps manage this disease, it cannot reverse the damage caused by diabetes. To me, having support from the government means having choices and equitable access to current life-changing technology that will give us a chance to live a healthier and longer life, while staying out of overcrowded hospitals.”

“Living with diabetes can be mentally and financially draining. Throughout Canada, there is no consistent standard among the provinces to help alleviate these burdens. Implementing standard coverage across Canada would reduce the costs of living with diabetes, reduce the risk of diabetes related complications, and increase the quality of life for millions of people throughout the country. I have been living with type 1 diabetes for 13 years, and have been using insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) for 5 years. I remember my biggest concern growing up was how I would be able to afford the cost of living with diabetes. It was obvious even then, how costly this condition is. Since I’ve had access to these technologies, I have reduced my average blood sugar to that of a person living without diabetes, I have not had an emergency hospital visit, and I have greatly reduced the risk of diabetes related complications.”

Impact of lack of coverage

Who’s advocating for us if the province is not?
For most of my adult life, I have lived with chronic migraine. I am a 57-year-old woman and have been on LTD since 2020 due to Migraine Disease. I was a practicing nurse and had to retire ten years earlier than I wanted to and at the height of the pandemic.
At about that time is when migraine disease had medications on the market specifically for migraine and not migraineurs using medications that were created for other diseases, and like a sibling getting clothes handed down, it’s okay, but it just doesn’t fit. The side effects, if one can imagine, were at times worse than migraine. It left us feeling helpless in the never-ending loops of attacks and not one solution to our pain and the impact on our lives and family’s lives.
With the carrot dangling in front of us with therapeutic Botox, CGRP therapies, ubrogepants, etc., were now a real option for reduced acuity of pain, occurrence, and for some people, remission.
As a BC resident, the understanding of the formulary for medications has been a minefield of emotional distress and financial instability.
BC has consistently challenged the physician’s ability to help their patients with endless Special Authorities that are often denied and then further burdening their practice with unnecessary paperwork for appeals and letters to the head pharmacist of the province.
I have maxed out on the ‘compassionate’ program when the denials are flying with the drug companies.
As a nurse with ‘excellent benefits’ and a spouse who is a veteran and with the federal government for the past 35+ years, one would think we would have an acceptable level of support. With lifestyle changes and having to leave my career, there is little else I can do to control the attacks. I don’t have Migraine Disease because I am doing something wrong; it’s a complex neurological disease.