Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, medical travel is not an insured service under the NWT healthcare plan. The GNWT provides medical travel benefits through Medical Travel Policy to eligible residents if they have no other sources of benefits in an effort to ensure that transportation expenses are not an economic barrier to accessing ensured health services. However, the Medical Travel Policy is only one of many policies and insurance plans that provide medical travel benefits to residents throughout the Northwest Territories. When patients are eligible for benefits through an employer or third party, those benefits must take precedence over the GNWT's medical travel plans.

With respect to the GNWT employees, GNWT employees have a negotiated benefit called Medical Travel that provides terms and conditions that determine how much individuals get when they travel on medical travel. They are not covered by GNWT medical travel. They are covered by an employee benefit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.