Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as legislators we have to look at the whole picture in this case, in my opinion. Yes, there was a specific recommendation to come up with a way to rebate the $250 when medical services that are supposed to be in the community aren't there. We've attempted to look at the whole area, the patchwork of the supplementary health benefits that come up, with a way to revamp and update and modernize and better link those services. We also can't afford just to lightly say we're prepared to possibly turn our back on over $1 million of federal revenue that now comes through non-insured health benefits, if we don't handle the issue of medical co-payments in the right way. Anyway who thinks that we can just walk away from that and we'll just add it to our deficit? I don't think they would agree that that's the best way, and why should we let the federal government off the hook?
So we do have some fundamental questions to answer and, yes, we can look at tinkering. I'm trying to avoid tinkering so that we can in fact move as quickly, but in a measured and as comprehensive a way as possible, to come up with a way that's going to allow us to put a document on the table that will show how we can revamp those supplementary health benefit services.
That paper also points out that the way we're going is not fiscally sustainable, that's it's developing in an unplanned, uncoordinated, very expensive fashion. So we have some tough decisions to make. In all probability, yes, we may have to go back to the Legislature and Cabinet for more resources. But we definitely can't do that at the same time as we think we can just turn our back on federal money, which is why we have to take that look. I'm prepared to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune here in order to do that properly. That's the intent, Mr. Chairman. We'd like to get something on the table and we're prepared to work as fast as we can. I can do this with the departmental authorities in isolation, but then that defeats the whole point that the Members keep making about they want to be involved at the front end. The attempt here is to look at a major reworking of a key program area in a collaborative way that's long overdue. Thank you.