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Health care cuts mean patients will have to ‘prioritize’ treatments

The recent cuts to the Medical Services Plan Supplementary Benefits program have many Whistler patients worried they will not be able to afford to treat their injuries properly in the New Year. Effective Jan. 1, 2002, about 75 per cent of B.C.

The recent cuts to the Medical Services Plan Supplementary Benefits program have many Whistler patients worried they will not be able to afford to treat their injuries properly in the New Year.

Effective Jan. 1, 2002, about 75 per cent of B.C.'s population will no longer be covered under MSP for visits to physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists. In addition, visits to naturopathy and non-surgical podiatry practitioners will not be covered for the majority of the population.

"Chiropractic care is going to become more exclusive," said Dr. Peter Drysdale, a chiropractor at the Village Centre.

Only those who qualify for MSP premium assistance, meaning those who are making less than $20,000 a year, will be covered for a combination of 10 visits over the course of one year.

Health Services Minister Colin Hansen said in a press release that the changes were put in place to meet immediate cost pressures on the health care system.

"These changes have been designed to reduce costs significantly while preserving the access to benefits for those who can least afford paying for these services," he said.

But Drysdale said these benefit slashes are not going to save money for the government down the line.

"I think it will cost the taxpayers more and lead to worse health for the people in the province in the long run," he said. "If these young snowboarders, for example, are injuring themselves and not getting the proper care right away then they will have more problems down the road."

In Whistler, there are a lot of young people who are not making a lot of money but still make above the cut off to qualify for premium assistance.

"There are people who will fall into the category where nobody is going to help them," said Susie Mortensen, the owner of Whistler Physiotherapy.

She said that many of her patients have been very concerned about the future of their health care since the government announced the cuts.

As it currently stands, the rates to visit a physiotherapist or a chiropractor are fairly reasonable.

For those covered under regular B.C. Medical, MSP pays $13 for each visit to a physiotherapist and the patient pays a user fee of $20. Similarly, MSP covers $7.35 for a visit to a chiropractor while the patient spends $20 on a user fee. Twelve visits per year are covered this way.

In the new year, the user fee rates will be going up because MSP will not be covering anything. In an unofficial, suggested fee schedule posted by the Physiotherapy Association of B.C. the rates may go up to around $45 for each visit.

"Low income people are going to be excluded, which is unfortunate for everyone," said Drysdale.

However, people may have to change the way they look at how important health care is to them, especially in a place like Whistler where people are anxious to get better quickly.

"People may have to look at how they prioritize what is important to them," said Mortensen. "How important is your health?"

Most patients in Whistler are young at heart and are anxious to get better so they can get back to the business of playing, said Mortensen.

She remains optimistic that these changes won't have a drastic toll on her practice.

"This will probably affect the clinics in Whistler the least of any of the clinics because of the high percentage of private customers," said Mortensen, who has been in the business in Whistler for about 20 years.

She said in the winter about 50 per cent of the patients who come to her clinic are private customers.

For clinics in smaller, poorer towns however, this is not great news, she said.

Both Mortensen and Drysdale were surprised at the very quick timeline in which the changes are to be implemented. Neither was expecting changes like these to happen so quickly but they attribute it to the fact that January 1st is when the annual visits started to be counted.

Mortensen is expecting an initial decline in visits for the first three-six months.

"I am cautiously optimistic that we will get through the beginning of the New Year," she said.

Remaining optimistic, she also said that many people might just be covered for these services through their extended medical plan with their employer. About 60 per cent of British Columbians are covered through extended health care benefits through private firms.

However since the government's announcement, B.C.'s largest provider of health care benefits, Pacific Blue Cross, said they would not be absorbing the extra costs. These costs will most likely be transferred to the employers who provide their employees with the extended plans.

"The rates for extended plans are going to go up because there will be higher claims," said Eric Barclay, of Eric Barclay Insurance Services Inc.

This will not happen at the beginning of the year, he said, but the changes will most likely be seen when the time comes for renewal.

In addition to making changes to Supplementary Benefits, the government is also changing Pharmacare benefits.

Among other things, seniors will be charged more for medicine. Seniors over 65 who qualify for premium assistance will pay $10 for each prescription, up to a maximum of $200 per year. Those not on government assistance will pay $25 for each prescription up to $275 per year. Currently, all seniors receive full coverage for all prescription drug costs but they must pay up to a maximum of $200 per year for pharmacy dispensing fees.

The government said that these two programs will save an estimated $129.4 million in the upcoming years.