The cost of poverty in Ontario is an estimated $32-to-38-billion per year. As physicians, we know that biology accounts for only a small portion of what makes people sick and that income is perhaps the most important social factor contributing to health.
One of the reasons poverty is expensive is because people living in poverty have higher rates of chronic disease, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Children in low-income families are at higher risk of diagnosed mental health problems, nutritional deficiencies, asthma and injury.