Thank you, Madam Chairperson. In the area of medical travel, has there been an increase as a result of the closure of the alcohol and drug centre in Inuvik? Have you noticed an increase in medical travel?
Debates of Feb. 24th, 1998
This is page numbers 1041 - 1091 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairperson.
Topics
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1070
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1070
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Ramsden
In general terms, the Inuvik board has been one of the best performers in terms of both managing and reducing its medical travel expenditures, year by year. When the Delta House facility was closed, the department contributed to the board an incremental amount of medical travel money, because we anticipated that they would need to send people out of their region that they otherwise would have been able to support inside their region. We have been tracking the volume of travel outside of the region for addictions treatment. At last report, that volume was in the area of 60 clients that had left the region for treatment. Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the area of non-insured health benefits, have there been any changes to the way the people who receive support under this system? Have there been changes to the dental program? What changes are there? Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
February 24th, 1998
Page 1071
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, yes, there was a change in dental services. Primarily, the main change was that there has to be a predetermination of the dental services now, before work can be undertaken. What it means is, they have to get preapproval before work can proceed.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For example, if somebody needed dentures, they would have to get approval from somebody in Ottawa or is there a different location? How was it done before, this predetermination factor that has come into effect?
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Member is correct. There is an approval centre in Ottawa, whereas before that, we used to be able to make that approval as the administrators of the Non-insured Health Benefits Program. Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, somebody in Inuvik who needs dentures would have to wait for an approval process from Ottawa before they can receive those. For example, if an elderly patient who needed dentures would have to wait, how long would it take? Days, weeks before they could receive that kind of approval?
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is correct. It is my understanding that approval normally takes between four to six weeks. Just to qualify what I think I said before, about the predetermination level. There was always a predetermination level there. What they have done is lower it, so in effect, any value of work that is over $600 in the 12-month period is the criteria which require predetermination. Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is the Minister aware of the reason why they have done this change? Do they not feel that the Northwest Territories, GNWT was capable of doing the work before this? Why would they pull something from the territories back down to Ottawa? Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it was not just the Northwest Territories that was impacted by these changes as nationally they did it throughout all jurisdictions. They centralized the function back in Ottawa, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Was the Government of the Northwest Territories notified for the reasoning behind this, because it will impact and has impacted many northerners in a negative way? Thank you.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we have a minor role in respect that we administer the dollars that come from the federal government for the Non-insured Health Benefits Program. The main stakeholders are the aboriginal groups because these benefits are for aboriginal peoples. It is our understanding that they did provide information to the First Nations and Inuit organizations back in the fall of 1997, before they implemented these changes to the dental services and the non-insured health benefits drug formularity changes that took place.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1071
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is fine they let the aboriginal organizations know, but there are a lot of people out there who do not hear much about any changes until they go for a service. Although we administer it, people look to us as the changers of the service because, we, at one time administered it or to a certain degree, still do. Has there been any advertising program or a program where people who received this type of service before are made aware of it as soon as they go to receive that service? I have been approached by a number of people in my constituency with this type of concern. Thank you.