biostudies-literatureAaltonen KAcademy of FinlandBiotieteiden ja Ympäristön Tutkimuksen ToimikuntaStrategic Research Council33https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8905281biostudies-literatureUnknown21(1)<h4>Background</h4>Finland has universal coverage for prescription medications under the National Health Insurance. Eligibility schemes target higher reimbursements to individuals with chronic illness. Nevertheless, co-payments always apply, and austerity reforms implemented in 2016 and 2017 led to further increases in co-payments. We examined the extent to which people with chronic illness experienced financial difficulties in purchasing medications, how perceptions of fairness regarding the national reimbursements differs by exposure to policies and medicine use, and in what way do these experiences and opinions vary between surveys collected before and after the reforms.<h4>Methods</h4>We used two waves of Medicines Barometer (2015 and 2017, pooled n = 10,801), a national, biennial, croInternational journal for equity in healthCitizens' opinions and experiences related to costs and reimbursements for medications in times of retrenchment: cross-sectional population surveys in 2015 and 2017.PMC8905281320162314250; 293103332624Prix IAaltonen KNiemela MfalseCitizens' opinions and experiences related to costs and reimbursements for medications in times of retrenchment: cross-sectional population surveys in 2015 and 2017.<h4>Background</h4>Finland has universal coverage for prescription medications under the National Health Insurance. Eligibility schemes target higher reimbursements to individuals with chronic illness. Nevertheless, co-payments always apply, and austerity reforms implemented in 2016 and 2017 led to further increases in co-payments. We examined the extent to which people with chronic illness experienced financial difficulties in purchasing medications, how perceptions of fairness regarding the national reimbursements differs by exposure to policies and medicine use, and in what way do these experiences and opinions vary between surveys collected before and after the reforms.<h4>Methods</h4>We used two waves of Medicines Barometer (2015 and 2017, pooled n = 10,801), a national, biennial, cro2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Mar2025-04-22T19:14:26.214Z2024-11-19T15:00:50.841ZS-EPMC89052813526415510.1186/s12939-022-01631-6