Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Edmonton at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, there is a weight loss clinic. From time to time medical professionals have referred Northerners to those services at that clinic. There is a very accurate unit, I believe. It is for people who have weight issues that affect their health and their well-being. Mr. Speaker, I have heard from two constituents and also had spoken to Mr. Hawkins, I believe, who has heard from a couple of constituents as well, that the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services is no longer funding the provision of services to these constituents at the weight loss clinic. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if this was a deliberate policy change by her department. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a change of policy, but it is about adhering to the policy. Weight loss procedure is not an insured service. It is not something that is covered anywhere in the country. Under our health care coverage, we pay for hospital and doctor services. Most of the situations we know of are not being done at a hospital setting. Mr. Speaker, our policy does allow for exceptions. It would have to go through a doctor’s coverage. We are working with the doctors to have a very clear clinical guideline on that. As well, in the interim, we are looking to see how we could come up with our own program to assist those who are extremely obese, and obese in a way that affects their health status, and the department is working on coming up with a program on that. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, so the Minister indicates that there has not been a change in the policy, that in fact in adherence to the policy that did exist. When my constituents began to receive services through a referral to the weight loss clinic at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and are now being told this is no longer, was it an error that they were referred there for surgery and medical attention in the first place? Was that referral made by someone who didn’t know what our policy was? Why now, in mid-treatment, is there a change in the support they received? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, those procedures should not have been approved. I cannot go into the details of the individual files, but we have at least half a dozen cases we know of. If we look into the details, we will find that the services that these clients were going to were not in a hospital or in a medical facility but in a private program like YWCA in Edmonton and such. We have to follow the Canada Health Act. Our health care covers hospital and doctor services. I know that there are lots of other services that people would like us to pay for, but we need to follow our policy and pay for what is covered under the Canada Health Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, so it sounds like some people managed to be referred and receive that support from the Northwest Territories, but now this error, I suppose, in policy has been caught. I am going to ask the Minister if it is possible that, since it would be difficult for these constituents, then, to carry on and complete the service that they were receiving through this Edmonton facility and I have to assume from what the Minister is saying that this may be a private clinic at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and not a hospital itself, is there a way that these few cases could be grandfathered and carry on receiving their service to the conclusion? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the department, along with the medical community, is reviewing this program to come up with a plan that could assist its patients. I would recommend the Member and any Members in the House to have names of constituents that they would like us to consider in this review. I would be happy to receive them and get back to the Member separately. Obviously, this is not something I can talk about here. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: what would get obesity to the point, as she says -- I suppose they call it morbid obesity -- where it affects the well-being of the person? What would set that apart in the department’s policy guidelines from any other illness that someone could have? I don’t understand why this thing would be treated any differently than any other disease people have. Maybe some people are overweight because they are addicted to food, but if we were going to start telling people they couldn’t receive services because they had an addiction, that we wouldn’t be providing service, people with substance addictions or tobacco. There is no end where it would end. Does the Minister concur that obesity can be a medical condition that should be covered by this government? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps one day we can have a big debate on that.
Mr. Speaker, wellness includes a lot of things. It includes healthy eating, healthy lifestyle. Our program does not… Canada Health Act, for example, does not support alternative medication, herb medication, acupuncture. I think there are a whole slew of things that our people would like us to cover, because definitely it would include their wellness, also probably their medical condition. The fact is, weight loss reduction services are not part of our Canadian health insurance system. It is not covered anywhere or in any part of the country. Obviously there is an exception that can be made. It could be established that it is life threatening. That is why there is always that exception in the rule. So we are reviewing that. I will get back to the Member on that, because we are hard pressed to cover those programs that are covered under the Canada Health Act where the programs are delivered by hospitals and doctors. We can’t continue to add without putting guidelines and some programs here first. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
