Nakurmiik. Ullaakut.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you, members of the committee.
My name is Maggie Putulik. I'm here today as the vice-president for health services for the Nunasi Corporation.
I would like to start off by saying that it is an honour for me to talk to you about the importance of the non-insured health benefits program for Nunavummiut Inuit. At the end of my presentation, I am going to outline three key recommendations to improve the policy.
Nunasi Corporation, which I work for, is a Nunavut Inuit birthright corporation owned by two regional Inuit associations, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Kivalliq Inuit Association, and one regional development corporation called the Kitikmeot Corporation.
Ours is the oldest Inuit development corporation in the country. We were created in 1976 by the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, at the time. It is now known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Nunasi Corporation was created to be used as a vehicle to ensure Inuit participation in economic development.
Nunasi has investments in the medical accommodations known as largas. We are situated in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Yellowknife. As there are no specialized medical services in the north, Inuit must be sent to the south to receive specialized medical services. The largas are known as a home away from home, with culturally appropriate programs offered to medical patients and their escorts. We provide accommodation, lodging and transportation covered by the non-insured health benefits program.
Nunasi also owns Polar Vision, which is located in Yellowknife but offers services for optical care in Nunavut communities.
The non-insured health benefits program is a significant program for Inuit, and although there are many benefits to the program, today I'm going to offer three specific areas of improvement that would greatly improve outcomes.
First of all, the federal government should enter into a long-term, 10- to 15-year agreement with the territorial Government of Nunavut to ensure that appropriate investments can happen. Long-term agreements provide greater certainty in securing the essential services we at the largas provide to Nunavummiut.
Second, the Government of Canada should develop and implement a territorial user transportation policy. I use the term “user”. In the medical world, a user is a patient or an escort. That's the term that is used. It should develop a territorial user transportation policy both for Nunavut and the Government of Northwest Territories to avoid misinterpretation of the policy pertaining to medical escort eligibility.
Escorts provide a critical function in Inuit health services. They accompany the patients and assist them with mobility issues and language barriers, as well as social, psychosocial and emotional support. We have experienced many inconsistencies in applying the escort policy, particularly in the GNWT. The federal government needs to implement a clear policy that specifically outlines who can be eligible to have an escort, because the policy as it is at the moment is vague and broad, and it could be misinterpreted by medical travel personnel, in particular, within those two levels of government.
Nunasi's third and final recommendation is to update the non-insured health benefits program policies related to vision care in Nunavut. Currently, the NIHB pays $300 to $400 for one pair of glasses every two years for adults and every year for children. These program benefits are below what is considered standard in vision care programs elsewhere in Canada.
We have been given the most basic amount to cover our glasses. We recommend that NIHB pay market rates or close to them for eye exams and glasses so that Nunavummiut can afford to utilize this program. As well, contact lenses should be included, and laser eye corrective procedures should be eligible in appropriate cases.
Finally, service days from opticians in the Nunavut communities are very limited. We frequently hear that the low number of available service days prevents Nunavummiut from accessing vision care. That is unacceptable.
As a professional who has worked in the health services network for the past 15 years and has been working diligently with the largas, Polar Vision and other health care providers that utilize the NIHB program, I have outlined for you today these three key policy recommendations. I believe that we could work collectively to make the program even better. I look forward to your questions.
Thank you for offering me the opportunity to appear before you today.