Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the department, at the same time that they're doing this, they're also working on the product listing agreements, so those are medications and things like that that they're getting lower costs for medications, and so that is one of the reasons why we've been able to keep the costs down and in within extended health benefits on the prescription side. And just to also add note to the -- there are members and people that may not have needed supplies or -- so when, say, somebody that would traditionally use the extended health benefits and they were for supplies...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that northern wellness agreement, that's being renegotiated right now, so that is why there's a reduction so those funds come directly out of that northern wellness, so as soon as those -- that agreement is finalized, then that number will change. Thank you.

That is correct.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, most definitely that is -- we will -- we are going to be -- the work that we do, you know -- and I think the thing is that when people say, you know, told me a hundred times that this is a problem, we have all of that, the work is being added, every BF that every Member has sent to me, we have that as statistical data to help generate what the main issues are of our medical travel program. Also, the data that's been going into the -- like, Office of the Client Experience, especially through the Indigenous patient advocates, they have been tacking data, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we brought that back to the -- I believe the committee, or we responded; I can't recall. When we had the conversation with NTHSSA, I know that we are working on our new people strategy and so that we were looking at incorporating ways to work with all of our staff within the NTHSSA through that people strategy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Before when it was a specific disease, there were 1200 accessing the program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I have ADM Mathison to my right, and the deputy minister Joanne Cecchetto to my left.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not sure if I understand the question. I think what -- if you're referring to that we are dealing with deficits because we were reallocating funding this year to put towards the deficit, so if you -- for example, there was -- when we renegotiated the last NIHB agreement, the money that we were allocating to NIHB from GNWT funds, we were able to put that towards some of the deficit because the special allotment through NIHB, the third party agreement, paid for the thing that it's been -- that we've been paying for for years. And so we were able to negotiate NIHB to pay...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the question and the comments, and I know that is part of what is also in this medical travel review is the escorts, and I've -- you know, I've heard from the Member. You know, I've raised the same issues. I've heard it from the Council of Leaders. I think I've heard it from every Indigenous community that I've travelled into with MLAs. And so, yes, this is part of the review, and I know that we need to consider when people are travelling from small communities, elders, language, the situation that they're going for, all of those things, and within...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I will pass that on to the ADM for the detail.