N.S. premier apologizes to women who fought in court for out-of-province operations

Nova Scotia's premier is apologizing after a court criticized his government for what it calls a flawed, discriminatory and unfair process that led to two women being rejected for coverage of out-of-province treatments.

Nova Scotia's premier is apologizing after a court criticized his government for what it calls a flawed, discriminatory and unfair process that led to two women being rejected for coverage of out-of-province treatments.

In a decision released Friday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Timothy Gabriel overturned the province's "unreasonable" refusals to reimburse Jennifer Brady, who has painful lymphedema in her legs, and Crystal Ellingsen, who suffers from lipedema in her legs and arms, for their treatments.

Brady's condition causes tissue to swell from the accumulation of fluids normally drained through the body's lymphatic system, and Ellingsen had asked the province to fund surgery to remove diseased tissue, increase her mobility and relieve chronic pain.

In his decision, Gabriel said the province's review of their cases wasn't transparent and was replete with errors, and the rejection was unreasonable because "in reality, there was nobody in Canada who could treat either of their conditions."

The judge ordered the parties to submit potential solutions to him, now that he has quashed the original refusals.

"I have concluded that the effect of the regulations ... during the applicants' struggles with MSI (the province's health insurance program) discriminated against the applicants on the basis of their rare medical conditions," he wrote. "I have found that the applicants have been treated in a procedurally unfair manner."

He criticized the department's process of sending the women to specialists who had years-long waiting lists and were not going to be able to provide a referral for the out-of-province treatment.