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Diabetes an expensive disease for many Canadians, costing on average $2.5K annually

A diabetes testing kit, showing just some of the components a diabetic needs to pay for. (Thinkstock)
A diabetes testing kit, showing just some of the components a diabetic needs to pay for. (Thinkstock)

Days after his Grade 8 graduation, Julie Vanderschot’s 13-year-old son began to have blurry vision and stomach pains. He was rapidly losing weight, had difficulty chewing, was insatiably thirsty and frequently needed to use the bathroom.

At the same time, he was taking medication to treat an infected tendon in his foot, which he’d hurt in a bicycle accident. “We initially mistook some of the symptoms as side effects of the antibiotics,” said Vanderschot, a policy analyst in Ottawa.

Her son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas can’t produce insulin because the immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce it. Insulin is a crucial hormone that helps shuttle glucose from the blood into the body’s cells where it’s used as an energy source.

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In the weeks and months that followed, the family attended training and education sessions at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), learning how to test blood-glucose levels, administer insulin and adjust dosages, count carbohydrates and manage diet. Vanderschot’s son now sees an endocrinologist every three months.

A report from the Canadian Institute of Health released earlier in November, which is National Diabetes Month, noted that Canada has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world. More than nine million people are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes in this country. It’s a chronic condition that takes a physical toll and has expensive recurring drug fees.For those who are living with the condition, it’s an expensive situation.

Under The Canada Health Act, pharmaceuticals and blood-glucose monitoring are covered when administered in hospitals, but if they’re not in a medical ward, diabetics who lack private insurance or those who aren’t receiving social assistance or seniors’ benefits pay out-of-pocket.

“Once a person is discharged with a prescription drug for diabetes, and recommendations for monitoring – that’s when patients face the challenge of needing to pay for life-saving treatment and support,” said Epidemiologist Seema Nagpal, the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Director of Policy.

Provincial plan coverage varies Nagpal explained, but, on average, costs range between $2,529 to $2,868 for people with Type 2 diabetes, and $531 to $5,264 for people with Type 1 diabetes (these CDA figures do not factor in the cost of medical visits and diagnostics tests, specialized home care visits, rehabilitation and permanent residential care).

For some Canadians with diabetes, their out-of-pocket expenses may exceed the above amounts. Those without private insurance may need to pay as much as $6,800 or 27 per cent of their annual income for needed medications, supplies and devices, Nagpal said (the exceptions are residents of the Northwest Territories, who are covered under a territorial health plan, and First Nations peoples covered by the Non-Insured Health Benefits program).

Insulin pumps, costing between $6,000 and $7000, are the most expensive devices. A pump delivers rapid-acting or short-acting insulin continuously throughout the day via a catheter under the skin. Because the pump is present 24/7 it prevents sudden highs and lows in blood-glucose levels. Most provincial plans cover a portion of the pump’s cost (and supplies) for children and young adults on a sliding scale based on family income.


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 Cape Breton resident Dawn Ostrem was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8. Now 41, the college instructor uses an insulin pen (similar to an EpiPen) because the pump is too expensive. With insurance her monthly payments for medical supplies are $200.

I do wonder sometimes how much drug companies actually make off of the fact that there is no cure yet,” she said. “Researchers have been ‘close’ for a very long time so I find that frustrating.” 

The first year after Vanderschot’s son was diagnosed annual expenses were in the neighbourhood of $3,500, for insulin-related equipment, monitoring supplies, and blood testing. The supplemental health insurance she has through her employer covered approximately 80 per cent of those expenses.

Currently, the costs for her son’s insulin cartridges, insulin needles, and lancets for blood tests amount to $275 every month, of which she pays 20 per cent out-of-pocket. This amounts to $700 in annual medical expenses.

The tiny test strips for the glucose-monitoring system are the most expensive part at $1.00 apiece. Vanderschot’s son uses a minimum of four a day; he tests his blood-sugar levels before meals and before bed and more frequently when participating in sports.

“Diabetes is intrusive in your life in that you can’t do what you want when you want,” she said. “He can’t sleep in because he can’t go too long without taking insulin. He’s had to adjust his life a little bit.”

Now 15, her son injects himself with two types of insulin – fast-acting and slow-release. “From day two he’s been taking care of it. He’s been very mature about it,” Vanderschot said.

She’s already thinking about her son’s 21st birthday when he’ll no longer be eligible for coverage under her insurance. He has a pre-existing condition that is manageable and he will have to find a job that has supplemental insurance, she said. “So we have a six-year-horizon on that…”

Until then they’ll continue to rely on CHEO’s endocrinology unit that’s dedicated to diabetic children. “The only real out-of-pocket expenses related to those visits are the costs of parking,” she said. 

More importantly, “The social workers, dieticians, nurses are specialized and can answer any questions.

“I often think about how much more difficult it would be for parents and patients who live in rural areas or small towns where the services can't be as comprehensive. We feel very fortunate.”