Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right. With respect to the cost of doing the children’s dental surgery in Hay River, which is an option we could consider, most of the cost is with the anaesthetic service and the anaesthesiologist, who is a specialist who needs to provide that service, as well as with all the related costs of performing that procedure.
Just for anaesthetics, Mr. Speaker, our cost for doing it in Hay River per 90 minutes is $952. NIHB
is willing to cover $700, and there is a gap of $244 per situation.
It is our position that it is not an insured service. We are willing to let the hospital be used for that, and we are saying that the dental surgeons, who are getting compensated for most of it, would cover some of those costs of using the facility and using the anaesthesiologist.
As well, we would like the federal government to step in, because when you are saying $244 per child — and we have numerous children on the waiting list — it really does add up. It’s a cost we’re having a difficult time covering.