While the price of orphan drugs, which are needed by relatively small numbers of people, is an important topic that deserves coverage, I would add that there are drugs necessary for many patients, but priced at levels that make them inaccessible for most. When I had cancer the first time, my white cell counts dropped so low they had to suspend chemo until the levels rose. Fortunately, a drug called Neupogen increased white cell counts, thereby enabling me to continue chemotherapy. When the cancer returned a couple of years later, I was put on palliative chemo and found that Neupogen was not covered by OHIP for "recurrent cancer" and that a twice-monthly course (14 injections) would cost $5400, or up to $65,000 per year. My wife and I are lucky enough to have had jobs with good supplemental health insurance which covers it (at least so far), but I know there are many who can't pay for it. They're penalized for being poor, and their lives will be shortened because of it.