Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images Shoppers browse merchandise at a Shoppers Drug Mart location.

OTTAWA — A gap in medication coverage forced an estimated 731,000 Canadians to borrow money to pay for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs last year, according to a new study published Tuesday. After surveying more than 28,000 people, researchers at the University of British Columbia found "potentially vulnerable" groups including children, seniors, and low-income earners to be disproportionately affected by high drug costs. "These new findings suggest that many people are going into debt to cover the costs of their prescription medications every year," said study author Ashra Kolhatkar in a release. The study does not delineate the sources of where people borrowed money from (for example, friends or relatives, banks, credit card or payday loans).

Justin Tang/The Canadian Press Eric Hoskins, former Ontario minister of health, stands with Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor on Parliament Hill on Feb. 27, 2018. Hoskins chairs a federal government advisory council to implement a national pharmacare plan