As a Nigerian, I thought Canadians had free health care.
asserted
Canadians → think → care
Then I became a pharmacist here
asserted
I → become → ?
As a patient and a pharmacist, I've found prescription drug costs can be a difficult pill to swallow
This First Person is the experience of Atai Okokon, who lives in Calgary.
asserted
who → find → Calgary
I asked the woman at the pharmacy counter how she would like to pay for her child’s asthma inhaler.
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she → ask → inhaler
"Does my insurance no longer work?" she asked in a whisper, her voice shaky and unsure.
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voice → work → whisper
"I was laid off and I am not sure how long my employer coverage would last.
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coverage → lay → ?
I tried putting it through a second time.
asserted
I → try → time
The coverage has been terminated."
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coverage → terminate → ?
She brought out her credit card to pay.
asserted
She → bring → card
It was declined.
asserted
It → decline → ?
She hesitated for a bit, turned out her purse to see if she had enough cash, but she was $2 short.
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she → hesitate → cash
The tears rolled freely down her cheeks.
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tears → roll → cheeks
Her son needed his medication, but she couldn't afford it.
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she → need → it
It wasn't the first time I experienced this.
asserted
I → experience → this
I had seen it in Nigeria, where I had trained and worked as a pharmacist.
asserted
I → see → pharmacist
I had witnessed people become bankrupt, and some die, because they could not afford life-saving medication.
uncertain
they → witness → medication
I had provided samples, paid for medicines from my meagre salary, offered less expensive alternatives and discontinued medications that may not have been necessary to lower their expenses.
uncertain
that → provide → expenses
But I did not expect to see it in Canada.
asserted
I → expect → Canada
Okokon worked as a pharmacist in Nigeria before moving to Canada.
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Okokon → work → Canada
In 2012, I accepted a full scholarship to study global health at Oxford University in the U.K., leaving the counter for the classroom.
asserted
I → accept → classroom
It was there I first heard about the inverse care law — the concept that those with the most needs often have the least access to care.
asserted
those → hear → care
I assumed it mostly applied in “poorer” countries.
asserted
it → assume → countries
I was surprised to learn that countries can spend so much on health care and yet their citizens struggle to pay for the services.
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citizens → learn → services
North America featured prominently in these discussions and Canada stood out as a country that had made universal health care work.
asserted
care → feature → country
Eight years after I graduated, I moved to Calgary.
asserted
I → graduate → Calgary
I had admired and loved Canada from afar and as a health-care professional, I was excited to practise in a country where I believed anyone — no matter how much they earned or where they lived — could access most health-care services without thinking of the cost.
uncertain
they → admire → cost
I had a child after I moved to Canada and throughout my pregnancy, I did not spend a dime on routine tests, scans and specialist visits.
asserted
I → have → tests
I was unemployed but never worried about the cost of childbirth or what I would do if there were complications.
asserted
I → worry → what
But that's also when I realized that getting medications was a different ball game.
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getting → realize → medications
I had terrible nausea in my first trimester.
asserted
I → have → trimester
I woke up with it and, like a shadow, it stayed with me the whole day.
asserted
it → wake → me
The doctor prescribed medication but when I went to the pharmacy and heard the cost, I decided to find other ways to cope with the nausea.
asserted
I → prescribe → nausea
“It will only last 12 weeks,” I told myself.
asserted
I → last → myself
I was in the process of getting licensed as a pharmacist in Alberta and I did not want my husband, the sole provider at that time, to carry that extra financial burden.
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husband → license → burden
That plan did not work.
asserted
plan → work → ?
My nausea became worse and my husband bought a month’s worth of medication.
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husband → become → medication
I felt so guilty about the cost that I stretched it out, taking it only on the worst days, and said nothing to my husband.
asserted
I → feel → husband
My doctor had also prescribed iron pills, as my levels were quite low, and a kind pharmacist gave me samples when I explained my financial situation.
asserted
I → prescribe → situation
One in five Canadians do not have drug insurance coverage and have to pay for their medication.
asserted
Canadians → have → medication
And so was the woman standing in front of me at the pharmacy counter.
asserted
woman → stand → counter
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
