Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 4-17(4) asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 11, 2013, to the Honourable Tom Beaulieu, Minister of Health and Social Services, regarding NWT health care cards.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, the estimated population of the Northwest Territories at December 31, 2012, was 43,349. The number of active NWT health care cards as of February 25, 3013, is 42,239.
The Department of Health and Social Services incorporates two types of health care audits:
a health care card renewal that happens every three years; and
periodic review of client files throughout the year.
A health care card renewal is currently underway for the 2013 calendar year. As a part of this renewal, approximately 38,000 residents will be required to complete and submit a NWT health care card renewal form. If clients send in their renewal form more than four months after their health care coverage expires, they are required to provide proof of residency in the form of one of the following:
rent receipts, lease agreement or letter from a private landlord, or confirmation from a financial institution that the resident has a mortgage for local residential property;
utility, power, oil, property tax and/or phone bills; or
confirmation from Canada Revenue Agency that the resident filed a NWT income tax return.
Periodic reviews also ask clients to provide confirmation that they are residents of the NWT. These reviews are usually a result of a client receiving continuous medical services outside the NWT.
The department completed 124 health care card periodic reviews in 2012 and is currently gathering the information on the results of these audits. We will keep the Members up to date on our findings.
