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Delisting affecting local physiotherapists

Impacts not as dramatic as Vancouver, but business has changed While some physiotherapy practices in Vancouver have seen business drop by as much as 70 per cent since the provincial government changed funding to the medical services plan on Jan.

Impacts not as dramatic as Vancouver, but business has changed

While some physiotherapy practices in Vancouver have seen business drop by as much as 70 per cent since the provincial government changed funding to the medical services plan on Jan. 1, Whistler practices are still doing about the same amount of business say owners.

"In the three months after the changes, we were down between 18 and 20 per cent. We knew it was going to happen, but we were quite buffered by the tourism business. If there were spaces open that weren’t being used by locals, tourists filled up the spaces. By July our numbers were pretty much up to par with last year," said Susie Mortensen, a co-owner of Whistler Physiotherapy in the Marketplace and Creekside, and of Advanced Sport Therapy in Sundial Place.

According to Mortensen, there was some confusion after the announcement as to who was covered and by how much. That included people who were covered by the Workers’ Compensation Board, ICBC, and had extended coverage.

"People didn’t really know what the rules were, they didn’t know if they had coverage or if they had premium assistance through their employer. Since then people have investigated more and are realizing that physio isn’t as expensive as they thought."

As of Jan. 1, the provincial MSP reduced funding for physiotherapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy, naturopathy and eye exams to cut costs. For low-income earners, below the $20,000 a year line, they cut down the number of physiotherapy, chiropractor and massage therapies covered from 12 of each to 10 of all these therapies combined.

For patients who have extended medical coverage, the fee for a visit increased from between $20 and $30 on average per visit to between $40 and $50. Most of that can be reclaimed from an extended medical coverage provider, but some companies will only cover costs up to a predetermined limit.

In July, the Physiotherapy Association of B.C. slammed the delisting of these services, claming that practices were being hurt financially, some by as much as 70 per cent, and that patients are being hurt because they can’t afford to take care of their injuries.

The association also said that the delisting may be costing the provincial government more money as people are going to doctors and emergency rooms with problems they would have taken to physiotherapists in the past. In some cases, patients are being prescribed medication to alleviate the symptoms of their injuries and are not receiving therapy to ensure that the injuries do not reoccur.

According to Marilyn Hellier, Mortensen’s partner, Whistler locals and visitors are typically more health conscious and therefore more willing to pay for treatments.

"They live here because they want to do certain things, so they’re willing to come in and pay the money if they have to," she said.

"We haven’t been as affected as much as communities in the city where there are elderly people for example that don’t have a lot of income."

She has noticed that people are not coming in as frequently as they have in the past, including regular customers with chronic injuries. Instead she says they are coming in once and finding out what they can do on their own.

Bianca Matheson the co-owner of Peak Performance Physical Therapy and Massage in Whistler Village, says her business is down about seven per cent overall, but believes that part of that could be explained by the fact that the resort is slightly down as a result of the economy and the events of Sept. 11.

"We expected a decline, but we haven’t really seen it," she said.

She believes that between 60 and 70 per cent of her customers in Whistler have extended medical coverage or travelling insurance. The ones that don’t have that coverage, or make too much money to qualify for assistance, still come in, but not as often.

"We were certainly expecting worse," said Matheson.

She has also heard of people who haven’t been coming in for treatment because they don’t have any coverage and can’t afford it.

"I know of some people who are not coming in because of the costs. It isn’t a big percentage, but there are people out there who fall between the ranks."

For those people she feels that extended medical coverage programs have to become more user-friendly, enlisting individuals and small businesses as well as larger companies.

For extended coverage holders who can’t afford to pay their premiums up front, Peak Performance has let three of its customers pay in instalments rather than in lump sums.

"We’ve had to change our procedures for a few people, but the majority of the population seems to be okay," she said.

Like Hellier and Mortensen, she is discovering that people are looking for more than a treatment these days – they also want a program to take home with them to save money.

Mortensen says a large number of people in Whistler are falling through the cracks and as a result her company has started to offer a locals rate that they previously only offered to regular customers and locals that were strapped financially.

"We recognized that locals are really our bread and butter, without them we would not have a business," she said.

"We also realized that you can’t say to somebody that they have to come in three days a week when they can’t afford it. You’re putting them in an impossible situation. Whistler people are pretty up front, they’re honest, and they let us know if they can’t afford it. We help them out with a home program, and get them to check back periodically.

"That’s quite a bit of a change compared to before," she added.