Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank Ms. Hajdu, Ms. Gideon, Mr. Doidge and Mr. Adams for being here today.
Minister, as you know, administration of the non-insured health benefits program has been centralized since 2013, and that extends to the predetermination of benefits, billing, the provision of dental care and so forth. We have heard, however, that since the program was centralized, a good many issues have persisted. The system now has even more red tape, when people had been calling for less bureaucracy and more flexibility.
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador told us that it was able to interact and communicate more effectively with program administrators when there was a Quebec office. Basically, the system worked better.
Again today, we are hearing that the problems have only gotten worse. Delays in payment and reimbursement for services are increasingly common. Nevertheless, these are essential services. Problems also exist on the health care provider side of things. They are simply choosing not to provide services to this population. Obviously, when service providers don't get paid, it creates problems for them, so they choose not to participate in the program.
Since the system isn't working, are you considering decentralizing administration of the program? If not, what can you do, or what will you do, to make sure that members of first nations have access to the services?