Not everyone who travels south for medical reasons can front the money needed for that travel and that is a problem for a lot of Northerners, according to Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas.
She recently voiced her concerns in the Ontario Legislature this past week when she explained that the whole idea of the Northern Health Travel Grant (NHTG) was to ease the financial burden for Northern Ontario residents who must travel to Southern Ontario for medical reasons.
"As it currently exists, the NHTG is leaving many Northern patients in vulnerable situations, unable to access the care they need," Gélinas told the house.
She explained that a Northern patient needs to spend the money up front in order to travel to the south. Once the travel is completed, the person must then apply to be reimbursed for their spending, which can take several weeks, said Gélinas. She said some people however do not have the resources to buy a bus ticket out of town.
"Many low-income patients cannot afford those upfront costs, and so for them the door to treatment is closed shut," she added.
Gélinas said her office researched the issue and found that in some cases — such as a member of a First Nation, a person currently on Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program, or a child registered with Easter Seals — can get a limited amount of financial assistance.
"But for most people there is no help available." Gélinas told the house.
"Minister, this is wrong. People should not have to come to see me, desperate for care, because they can’t pay for their bus ticket to Toronto for care. It’s clear Ontario needs an emergency fund, available to the people in the North facing these circumstances; because what we have now, does not work.”
