Yukon's medical travel subsidy still nowhere near enough, critics say

The Yukon government is being urged to review its medical travel subsidy, which critics say doesn't come close to covering the costs of travelling for care.

"Every other month, I'm out a significant amount of money for, you know, for missing work and from having expenses that I cannot afford," said Amy Labonski, who brings her son to a cystic fibrosis clinic in Vancouver for care, about six times per year.

"Then you're forced to look at, OK, is the care that I'm going for more important than being able to pay my rent? Or more important than being able to buy groceries?" 

Labonski and her son are typically away from home for three days at a time — a day to travel south, a day for the appointment, and then a day to come home.

Under the current system in Yukon, people who are approved for outpatient medical care requiring an overnight stay outside of the territory can receive a $155 travel subsidy per day, starting on the first day. Approved escorts receive $78 per day. 

Good luck to anybody stretching those dollars, Labonski says.

"Whether you're getting an Airbnb or a hotel, you're looking at upwards of $300 a night, which is just not doable with a Yukon government stipend," she said.

Last year, the out-of-territory travel subsidy doubled from $75 per day — a rate that had been in place for many years — to $150, with a further adjustment this year to $155. 

The doubling of the subsidy last year followed a public engagement in 2019, involving surveys and focus groups with people who use the system.

"We heard time and time again in the focus groups that the $75-a-day subsidy was nowhere near enough to cover costs. Yukoners are often left paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars out of pocket to fund medical travel," reads a report based on the public engagement process.

The report also noted that some Yukoners were simply choosing not to travel for medical care. 

"It's difficult to track the exact number of Yukoners avoiding travel because of the up-front, out-of-pocket costs, but from what we heard it is a concerning issue," the reports reads.

According to Labonski, the increase that followed was a step in the right direction, but the government needs to go further. She says it's especially difficult for many people, because it can take weeks to receive the subsidy.

"It's helpful, obviously, to get some of those funds back. But I have to come up with them in the first place, and then I have to wait six, eight weeks to recoup, you know, whatever, 40, 50 per cent of what I spent — if that," she said.