Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to bring attention to a matter that affects a very important segment of our population, that being our seniors. Mr. Speaker, as you are no doubt aware, our population is aging and with the aging process, comes the inevitable decline in our health. Very often, Mr. Speaker, our elders are required to purchase a number of prescription drugs. This can prove to be a very costly and time consuming process. Mr. Speaker, the issue of seniors having to pay upfront for their prescriptions has been raised many times with me by my constituents. For many years, Mr. Speaker, long-time employees of the GNWT have been given the option to retain their medical insurance coverage upon their retirement. Mr. Speaker, the process that the Department of Health requires from these same seniors is that they first submit their prescription receipts to Sun Life. Normally, Sun Life will reimburse the seniors for 80 percent of the amount of their prescriptions. This process, Mr. Speaker, normally takes several weeks and can sometimes be quite lengthy. Once the senior receives the reimbursement of 80 percent from Sun Life, the senior then has to forward their original prescriptions to the Department of Health in Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, the senior then waits for the Department of Health to reimburse them for the remaining 20 percent of their prescription cost. Again, this process takes several weeks and, in some cases, months. Mr. Speaker, this whole process is far too lengthy and cumbersome for our seniors to endure.
It leaves many seniors currently covered under the Sun Life plan to question whether it is really worth their while in continuing with the plan. Very often, Mr. Speaker, our seniors are faced with living on a limited income. Should they also be burdened with the added aggravation of waiting several weeks, if not months, to be reimbursed for their prescriptions? At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will have some questions for the Minister on this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause