What to do when you cannot afford your prescription

Cutting tablets in half, stretching a month's supply over six weeks, or simply not filling the prescription at all — these are common responses to a cost people cannot meet, and they are more dangerous than the cost. A blood pressure medication taken at half the dose is not half as protective; an antibiotic course left unfinished can leave a worse infection behind.

There are usually better options, and almost all of them begin with telling someone.

Tell the prescriber the price is the problem

Doctors frequently do not know what a given drug costs a patient without coverage, and there is very often a cheaper equivalent. Say plainly: I cannot afford this — is there an alternative? That single sentence changes more prescriptions than any other intervention on this page.

Ask the pharmacist for the generic

A generic contains the same active ingredient, in the same amount, held to the same Health Canada standards, and frequently costs a fraction of the brand. Pharmacists can usually substitute one unless the prescription says otherwise. Ask directly, and ask whether a different pharmacy is cheaper — dispensing fees vary more than most people expect.

Check the public programmes

In Ontario, the Ontario Drug Benefit programme covers most prescription costs for residents aged 65 and over, people on social assistance, and several other groups. The Trillium Drug Program is the one people miss: it is for households whose drug costs are high relative to their income, whatever that income is. You pay a deductible spread across the year and the programme covers the rest. Households that assume they earn too much often qualify.

Ask about the manufacturer

Many pharmaceutical companies run patient support programmes for expensive long-term medications, particularly for chronic conditions. Your prescriber or specialist's office usually knows which exist for your drug.

Do not stop without saying so

If you have already stopped taking something because of cost, tell your prescriber at the next opportunity — not as a confession, but as information they need. Some medications are genuinely dangerous to stop abruptly, and a treatment plan built on the belief you are taking something you are not is the wrong plan.

Sources

• Ontario Drug Benefit Program
• Trillium Drug Program
• Health Canada — Generic drugs