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Penny wise, pound foolish?

If Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government proceeds with plans, reported upon last week in an article in the Flin Flon Reminder, owned by the same parent company as this newspaper, which was reprinted in the May 5 Nickel Belt News , to do away

If Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government proceeds with plans, reported upon last week in an article in the Flin Flon Reminder, owned by the same parent company as this newspaper, which was reprinted in the May 5 Nickel Belt News, to do away with subsidized airfare for escorts of Northern Manitoba patients who are sent to Winnipeg for medical treatment unless a doctor authorizes air travel, it may find that the headaches and bad publicity it generates for itself will be much more costly than the projected $1 million it expects the change to save it annually.

When your overall deficit is more than $800 million, you need to look for savings where you can, of course, but the fairly insignificant difference that this change will result in makes it look like its something that is being done more for the sake of style than substance.

Contrary to stories you may hear about people in remote communities overdosing on mild sedatives in order to get a medical trip to the city for the weekend, the truth is that most people who make the long trip from Thompson and other Northern Manitoba communities to Winnipeg for medical reasons would probably prefer to get their treatment close to home but can’t because the specialists they need to treat their condition are not available here. And while most people living outside of major centres can accept that some inconvenience comes with the territory, they probably won’t appreciate being made to feel like second-class citizens for doing so. Even if you do fly, as you have been able to opt to by paying an upgrade fee of $75 each for the patient and any escort, you still may have to take time off work, or arrange for someone to look after your kids or your pets and potentially pay to stay in the city if you need to be there overnight and the reimbursements for expenses like that that you can receive through the Northern Patient Transportation Program might not cover the total cost. Still, it’s a lot better than having to take the Greyhound and spend over 16 hours – or more, depending where you live – travelling back and forth for what, in some cases, may be nothing more than a quick consultation with the doctor and maybe an ultrasound or some tests. This option is technically free, but only if you consider your time as having zero value.

People can accept government cutbacks in a lot of areas, but when it comes to their health care, they aren’t apt to be overly forgiving. Obviously, this is the biggest area of government spending and so the province has to look for savings opportunities within health care budgets. But to tell people who can’t get the medical care that they need close to home that the person accompanying them on such trips may have to pay several hundred dollars to do so because it will help reduce overspending by 1/800th is not going to go over well, especially if cabinet ministers continue to fly on arguably unnecessary trips rather than driving themselves or taking the bus. The province should consider if this is really an example of fiscal responsibility or just plain miserliness. 

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