Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, one of the things that -- within the Northwest Territories, there are many programs that we provide at no cost and we have been providing those at no cost to residents of the Northwest Territories who hold a valid NWT health care card. Many of those services, when you look across the jurisdictional scan in Canada, those are a fee for service like throughout Canada. And so within extended health benefits, one of the areas in that is they're -- you know, what we're focusing on right now is trying to make a program that's equitable to the Northwest Territories residents. And there are a number of clients who are low income that live in the Northwest Territories that have no services, no pharmacy service, like no pharmacare plans, no medical supply plans. So they go without. And if they can't afford it, it's a choice that they have to make between, you know, certain things that we talk about in this House frequently. Where are you going to come up with the rent? Or are they going to come up with paying for their medication. Some people -- you know, and so this is the area where we're looking at under the fiscal responsibility is -- like, the programs that we have in the health department, the ones that are core services, we're -- you know, like, we're not going to be -- those are insured services. And then there's services that we -- you know, that we provide. And so we're looking at the ones that -- you know, we have been -- you know, that's one thing that we've been able to do for a long time but under our fiscal responsibility and, you know, where we are to keep a program like this going, then we have to be able to find ways to pay for some of these programs. And within this program, there are other things that are being done as well as just, you know, putting the fee schedules in for income testing as well as looking at -- and making, I think we have drug plans that we are negotiating so that we're bringing the cost of drugs down so that residents in the Northwest Territories that are utilizing a lot of these expensive drugs, it's not costing our program on extended health benefits. It's decreasing those costs as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Lesa Semmler on Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on June 4th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
June 4th, 2024
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