Deadline extended

Page 12

The federal government is pushing back the deadline to March 2004 for Aboriginal people to sign consent forms so they can receive their non-insured medical services.

But the joint Assembly of First Nations/Health Canada announcement on the issue left Inuit officials miffed

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) spokesman Stephen Hendrie would not confirm that his organization (formerly called the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) had filed a formal complaint with Health Minister Anne McLellean's office, but Ottawa sources say the matter was raised.

In the July 25 announcement the Assembly of First Nations took credit for persuading the health minister to postpone the deadline so First Nations concerns about the forms could be addressed.

"The extension is the result of an agreement reached between Minister McLellan and the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, to work together on the consent initiative," the press release stated.

Since the announcement came just nine days after Fontaine was elected, the perception was that the new AFN leader could get things done.

But an ITK press release, issued the same day as the AFN/Health Canada announcement, took credit for persuading the minister to delay the deadline.

"ITK has been successful in obtaining a six-month delay in the implementation of the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) Consent initiative by Health Canada," it stated.

The ITK said it had "received a letter from Health Minister Anne McLellan on July 24 stating, 'I have carefully considered the proposal of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) to extend the deadline for the client consent initiative. I have decided to extend the deadline until March 1, 2004, to allow Health Canada to work with the Inuit and with First Nations to obtain the authorization of NIHB clients so that services can continue to be delivered effectively and patient safety addressed.'"

"News of this delay is a positive sign," said ITK President Jose Kusugak. "It provides more time for ITK to work with Health Canada and with the Inuit regions to ensure that the program will meet Inuit requirements in terms of privacy for Inuit."

In March the ITK advised Inuit people against signing the consent forms and still recommends that no forms be signed until a satisfactory solution has been reached.

Health Canada says it wants recipients of non-insured health benefits to sign consent forms so that private medical information can be disclosed to service providers. New federal legislation will change the law regarding transmission and disclosure of personal information. Without the signed consent form, the government feels it would be exposed to legal risk if information required for billing and monitoring of health services is disclosed.

First Nation and Inuit leaders are concerned that the government will use the information for reasons other than what it has officially stated and want detailed assurances that rights and levels of services will not be adversely effected should Aboriginal people sign consent forms.