many in u.s. must choose: food or medicine?

the pandemic has taken a heavy financial toll on almost two-thirds of american patients and forced millions to make a desperate decision between food or badly needed medication, according to a new report that lays bare the harsh realities of the covid era.the 2021 medication access report, released tuesday by u.s. software company covermymeds, found 36 per cent of people passed on their prescription medication in order to pay bills and other basic needs. the daunting decision also went in the other direction, with 43 per cent bailing on pressing expenses in order to obtain their vital medication. forty-one per cent of patients said they have stretched out their doses — or skipped some altogether — to make medication last longer.“i don’t know how people can afford to be sick and still live their lives,” said patricia f., one of the patients featured in the report, who shared her experiences in dealing with multiple sclerosis. “i take it one day at a time and hope i’m not going to find out when it’s too late that i really should have been on medication.”the report, which surveyed 1,000 patients, 400 health care providers and 328 pharmacists over a two-month period last fall, provides a prescription to help deter this demoralizing trend through the use of technology and other tools to better serve the needs of patients. improving transparency with regards to prescription prices is integral, the report said, as is the continued development of electronic support services to ensure patients don’t feel cut off from treatment.the report also pointed to the importance of using electronic prior authorization to streamline some manual health care processes and increase the amount of face time people get with their providers. “patients need reliable paths to medication access and they shouldn’t have to choose between basic needs to access and afford their medications,” said miranda gill, the senior director of provider services and operations at covermymeds.“encouraging patients to proactively participate in their care plan has shown to help improve outcomes. by utilizing reliable technology to view cost, quality and convenience options, the patient and provider can collaborate to make the best treatment decision for the patient.”cost was a barrier to prescription medication long before covid-19 reached canada’s shores, of course, with a 2016 survey finding that out-of-pocket expenses lead many patients to forgo prescriptions, use more health care services than would otherwise be necessary and neglect basic needs to afford medication.many people were at their breaking point prior to the pandemic and the ensuing crisis has flooded food banks across the country. the 2020 who’s hungry report — a survey profiling the experiences of the food insecure — found that visits to food banks spiked by 58 per cent last summer as covid-19 wreaked havoc on the country. fifty-six per cent of visitors said they could not afford both food and rent. black and indigenous households reported food insecurity at disproportionately high levels of 28.9 per cent and 28.2 per cent, respectively.
“this report demonstrates the need for robust public polices to ensure a sufficient income floor so that all people can afford both food and adequate housing,” wrote neil hetherington, ceo of daily bread food bank, and ryan noble, executive director of north york harvest in an optimistic foreword to the report. “as we look to recovery, we can listen to people experiencing poverty who have been, and continue to be, calling for a fairer society where everyone can thrive. we can make employment a pathway out of poverty. we can achieve affordable housing for all. we can eliminate deep poverty.“we are at a crossroads and have the unique opportunity to create just and thriving communities where everyone’s rights to food and housing are realized.”dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.cadon’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter covid life.