[English translation not provided.]
The G.N.W.T. drug plan is administered through Sun Life insurance. Its administration seems to be rather complicated. If an employee needs prescription medication, they have to pay the cost out of their pocket. Once they fill out the form and send it to Sun Life, they will be reimbursed for 80 per cent of the cost. It often takes two months for people to get their money. That is two months where people are short on their budget, two months waiting for reimbursement of a drug benefit they are entitled to.
Now let’s look at a chronic illness like diabetes, where the patient needs insulin daily. The N.W.T. extended health care plan covers the cost of insulin, so G.N.W.T. residents get the full amount for insulin reimbursed through the public extended health care plan.
But now let’s see what happens if a G.N.W.T. employee has diabetes and needs insulin. First, the employee has to pay the $800 per month for the insulin out of their pocket. Then they wait for two months for 80 per cent from Sun Life. Only after this wait is the employee allowed to claim the remaining 20 per cent from the G.N.W.T. extended health care plan.
Basically, this government discriminates against its own employees. They need to wait the longest to get their essential medicines paid for. This causes distrust and anxiety.
Mr. Speaker, there is a solution to the problem. The Yukon Government employee drug plan — with the same company — has a smarter way of administering and processing the claims. In the Yukon, employees get a swipe card that the pharmacist swipes, and they receive the 80 per cent Sun Life payment directly. So the patient only needs to pay the 20 per cent out of pocket. In the case of a chronic disease, the remaining 20 per cent could be charged directly by the pharmacy to the extended health care plan.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Human Resources to explain why we cannot do the same.
