Drug Coverage

If you are on assistance, you get a drug card. You can use this card to fill prescriptions. However, the province doesn't pay for everything and it is really annoying to have to go back to your doctor to get the prescription written for a different dose or drug.

Your doctor should have a little book that they can look things up in before you leave so that they know it is covered. Lots of doctors are lazy, mean or forgetful so they don't automatically do this – tell them to look it up before you leave the office.

You need to know that the government can give your private drug history to an emergency room or in certain other situations unless you opt-out.

Limited Use – some drugs have multiple uses and are only approved for one of the uses so your doctor has to write a code on the prescription. It is really stupid. Also, you can use a drug that has a limited use code for something that it isn't approved as long as you are also using it for what it is approved for.

$2 Co-Payment – Some pharmacies make you pay $2 per prescription. If you have 5 prescriptions, that means you owe $10. As if pharmacies don't make enough money and need to gouge us for an extra $2. Lots of pharmacies wave the co-pay. If you live in a rural area you might have no choice but to pay it, but if you live in the city, you can probably find somewhere you can fill your prescriptions for free. In Toronto, in most neighbourhoods, you don't have to go more than a block to find a pharmacy that doesn't charge the co-pay. Don't support the jerks who try to make money off of poor people, if you can, shop elsewhere.

Emergency Department Access To Your Health Information – Hospitals don't only get to access your health information when they access your drug history, they get to access a lot of information about you that may affect your treatment.

Automatically, doctors will know you are poor. While some doctors treat everyone equally, others are really classist and treat people badly and/or are condescending to poor people. This could affect your treatment. Doctors may be able to ascertain that you have a history of addiction, that you have a history of mental health issues or have been psychiatrized, if you are HIV positive or a number of other things that could affect how they treat you.

The Ontario Drug Benefit does not provide medical history, just drug history so doctors could come to incorrect conclusions that end up hurting you. For example, if you had a lot of painkillers prescribed to you, the doctor might not give you painkillers, believing that you have an addiction to them. In reality, you could have a chronic pain disease or be recovering from a serious and painful illness. The doctor won't know about the illness, just the treatment and may not believe you if he thinks you are trying to get drugs.

It is not your decision to release your drug information – it happens automatically. We think it should be your decision. So, please consider whether or not you want your information to be released. If you have a medical condition where you become unable to express your medical needs or you could have a serious drug reaction, it might be a good idea to continue to allow the government to disclose that information. If you could be discriminated against because of your drug history or are concerned about your privacy, you might want to opt-out.

To opt-out, call 1-866-752-6405. You will have to give them your address and name and they will mail you the form to sign.