Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think third-party insurance is something that we will be discussing more and more over the next number of weeks as we do public discussion on the supplementary health benefits. We have done a user profile analysis and we have learned that third-party insurance, when we are talking about third-party insurance we’re not talking about the insurance program that government could enter into but third-party insurance that every individual has access to. Third-party insurance could be WCB, but it could also be employer insurance. If you work for the government or major...

Under the current system there is no appeal process for medical travel. The way the system is set up is that the health insurance office looks at the policy, looks at the guidelines and they apply the policy accordingly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The rules are quite clear about what our residents are eligible for. If they are getting medical or doctor services, they get medical travel associated with that, and there are some extended health benefits where they will be entitled to medical travel. So without more specific information, I’m not sure if I know what the Member is referring to. Thank you.

I’ll have to find out if our facilities ask in cases where the persons coming in are injured as a result of an accident and whether there might be health care coverage that they should be accessing first. They might be doing that already. I don’t know exactly how it works on the ground. I will ask what questions the providers ask when people come in.

I think the Member may be moving ahead of himself there. I guess we could always ask the individuals, but I think we should also recognize that it’s not entirely the individual’s fault in the way we have such a low rate of people having third-party insurance. We have a system where the government pays for core health care services, which is the case all across Canada and we’re not going to change that. But we have historically covered for all of the extended health benefits that an insurance company would do in southern jurisdictions. So there have been no incentives for residents to seek...

I think we should be mindful of the fact that we serve about 40,000 people in the Territories and by and large the service delivery goes smoothly. I do appreciate that I get a number of files across my desk and the MLAs get them as well. But if you compare that, a few dozen a year to 40,000-plus people that we serve, and the satisfaction reports that we’ve been getting, I think the service is satisfactory that way.

Now, people are always not going to like being told that they can’t take medical travel for this and that, and it might not have anything to do with the fact of whether it’s right or...

Absolutely, there is detailed information on the Department of Health and Social Services’ website on the Medical Travel Policy and what the public needs to know about what it does. The same with the extended health benefits or any other programs and services that the department provides.

The review we are undertaking doesn’t have to do with who qualifies for medical travel or not because that part is clear. What we want to do is to make sure that our system is working the way it was meant to be, that everyone who is eligible for service get them in a way that is smooth, and that our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to announce that Aven Cottages – Territorial Dementia Facility will celebrate its official opening on this Friday, February 19, 2010.

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In our A Foundation for Change document, we talk about providing the right services, through the right providers in the right places. This capital project is an example of our government working closely with corporate and community partners and delivering a program that meets the acute dementia care needs of the residents of the Northwest Territories. It is also about building a Health and...

The elders council was set up to provide direction and guidance in this area but, as the Member knows, the council is looking at a number of programs and services or approaches that would be sensitive to our aboriginal peoples and their cultures. They’re looking at not only the food component but also the spiritual healing and health and language use, traditional medicines, traditional foods, cross-cultural awareness. They’re looking at a number of things that they would like to work on. Once again, I will undertake to catch up with them to see where they are on making the recommendations.

As the Member knows, the meal services are provided by a third-party contractor at Stanton and I’m not aware of cultural and country food being made available to patients at Stanton, which is why the elders council wanted to review this option. It is under consideration by the council and I will be looking for their recommendations.