Compared with people who had drug
insurance, those who did not were 30%
less likely to use statins. People who
reported a financial barrier to accessing
medications were 50% less likely than
those who did not to use statins. These
differences may be related to the annual
costs of statin use, which range from $500
to $700.19 By contrast, use of ASA (a
much less expensive medication) did not
vary by the perception of financial barriers.
The disparity lends further support
to the hypothesis that non-use of statins
may be related to finances rather than to
other unmeasured factors (for instance,
an aversion to taking medications), and
is similar to what has been noted in other
Canadian studies of initiation of statin
therapy.