Ontario鈥檚 OHIP+ program, introduced in 2018 to provide free prescription medications for people under 25, was designed to improve access to care. Recent research led by 91亚色 associate professor Antony Chum alongside postdoctoral researchers聽Peiya Cao听补苍诲听Yihong Bai, as well as PhD student聽Kristine Ienciu suggests the policy had an additional benefit: it helped prevent some youth mental health crises. Because the policy created a before-and-after scenario, researchers treated it as a 鈥渘atural experiment鈥 to study its impact. Chum and his team analyzed changes in outcomes following the introduction of free drug coverage. This research is also showcased in YFile.
