Medical Travel Subsidy Will Not be Reviewed

Wednesday, 25 October 2017 08:47

Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost says program was never intended to pay 100 percent of costs.

Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost (Vuntut Gwitch’in) says her department will not be reviewing the Yukon Medical Travel Program. “The question about whether we’re going to increase medical travel fees — at this point in time, I can say that is not something that we are considering.”

The program subsidizes travel from home communities to Whitehorse or other major cities to perform medical procedures, which are not offered locally. If a patient is travelling from Whitehorse to Vancouver they are eligible for $75 per day starting day two and their flight is covered. The $75 is to help pay for accommodation, food and other transportation while in Vancouver.

The program also covers driving in rural Yukon. Yukon Party MLA Patti McLeod (Watson Lake) suggested rate for travel per kilometer is too low, compared with government employee travel. “Many Yukoners in the territory are required to drive from their communities to Whitehorse in order to receive medical treatment. The current rate of reimbursement for patients who are required to do this if they drive is 30 cents per kilometre. In contrast, the reimbursement rate for Government of Yukon employees who travel for work is double that — it’s 60.5 cents per kilometre.”

McLeod urged Frost to review the program. “We have also heard from Yukoners who are concerned about the current daily reimbursements for medical travel. I believe the current rate is set at $75 a day, starting on day 2. For someone who is sent to Vancouver for medical travel, it’s somewhat more expensive than $75 per day. The situation is much the same for someone coming to Whitehorse from the communities. Would the minister commit to reviewing the medical travel rates to ensure that Yukoners are not losing money when they are required to travel for medical purposes?”

Frost told reporters that the subsidy was never intended to pay 100 percent of the travel costs. “We're trying to subsidize as much as we can, we are providing sufficient, I believe on what's happening in other jurisdictions, providing the supports necessary. But never intended to be 100 percent dependent on government.”

Frost says the subsidy is comparable to other provinces and territories. “The department has actually taken a close review and assessment on medical travel, looking at other jurisdictions in Canada. I can affirm that Yukon has one of the highest reimbursement rates for medical travel and we do work with our partners in ensuring that clients are supported where needed. At times, there is support for the services to be received in the community or in Whitehorse.”

(Dan Jones, Whitehorse Oct. 24, 2017)

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