Montrealer struggles to pay for meds after Sun Life Financial refuses coverage

Watch: Sun Life declines liver transplant patient coverage

MONTREAL — A Montreal man is struggling to pay for medication after Sun Life Financial wouldn’t renew his medical insurance coverage.

The liver transplant survivor was a client with the company for years, until he said he was mislead into cancelling his policy.

The Canadian Liver Foundation claims thousand of patients are in a similar situation, struggling to pay for life-saving medication that’s often not covered by medicare.

David Sklar is still on anti-rejection medication and pain killers, 16 years after receiving a liver transplant.

He still doesn’t know what caused his liver to fail, but he clearly remembers the day doctors saved his life.

“Some viral infection that came out of nowhere,” he explained.

“Luckily within three weeks, they found a liver for me. They put me at the top of the list in Canada.”

Sklar’s liver transplant was never much of an issue until recently, when he decided to go travelling after graduating from Concordia University.

According to Sklar, he was told that it wouldn’t be a problem, but when the 28-year-old recently re-applied for coverage with Sun Life Financial, he was turned down because of his medical history.

“They never mentioned that due to my pre-existing condition, I wouldn’t be able to come back on it.”

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Sklar’s experience did not come as a surprise to the Canadian Liver Foundation.

“We’re saddened because we often get patients who call for financial help, just to help pay some of their medication,” Regional Director Betty Esperanza told Global News.

According to the Foundation, thousands of transplant patients across the country are forced to fend for themselves after surgery. since most provinces, including Quebec, don’t cover the full cost of medication.

Often finding private insurance after a transplant is next to impossible.

“Believe it or not, I actually had a patient once who had to mortgage his home.”

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When asked on the issue, Quebec’s health minister did not have much to say, except to acknowledge that medication comes with a price tag.

“Medication are free in hospital but out of hospital they are not,” Gaetan Barrette told Global News.

“I cannot comment any further.”

This means that patients who can’t get private insurance are often stuck footing the bill for their medication.

Sklar’s life-saving drugs can sometimes add up to $800 a month, an amount the struggling actor can’t afford.

“I just don’t know what to do,” he admitted.

“Sunlife haven’t been very helpful at all, they haven’t returned my calls.”

The insurance company issued a statement, saying that although it cannot comment on a specific case, those clients who choose to opt-out of a plan may not be able to opt back in.

“Our student health plan is a group plan offered with no medical testing required because the coverage is mandatory,” the Sun Life Financial statement read.

“After they graduate, students can enroll in an association plan, but if they opt-out, they may not be able to rejoin the plan depending on the specifics of the contract.”