EDITORIAL: Travel grant needs a fix

There appears to be a serious flaw in the Northern Travel Grant program, one that needs quick correcting.

As Marianne Cavrak-Johansen has learned, the program, which reimburses patients who must travel to other cities for medical treatment, only covers costs incurred in Ontario and Manitoba.

Two years ago, Cavrak-Johansen was diagnosed with a potentially fatal form of colorectal cancer and told the only treatment available was in?Calgary.

Facing a life-or-death choice, she made the one 99.9 per cent of us would make, booked her flights and hoped the operators of the provincial program would see the light.

Instead they’ve taken a black-and-white approach.

Whether they’re afraid of setting precedent or simply playing by the rules in place, when a doctor orders treatment, those travel costs should be covered.

The Ontario Health Insurance Program saw fit to pay for the surgery, a radical procedure that left her unconscious for two days recovering from the chemotherapy that accompanied it.

Cavrak-Johansen was not looking for a free trip to Calgary. She needed surgery to survive, and the only place she could get it was in Calgary.
Where possible, yes, treatment should occur in Ontario. But where not, find the flexibility to save lives.