Health minister expands on plan to fund travel when kids need out-of-province care

The Government of Saskatchewan is stepping back from a decision which would’ve made a Saskatoon family dip into their own pockets to pay for their travel to Toronto in order to get health care for their daughter.

Kaitlyn Soron and her husband went to the Legislative Building in Regina last week to ask Health Minister Everett Hindley and the provincial government to help cover costs after they had to take their two-year-old daughter to Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital in order see a pediatric gastroenterologist.

They can’t seek care in Saskatchewan, as the province hasn’t had a pediatric gastroenterologists practising since 2023.

Initially, the government said it would cover the cost of the girl’s care but not the travel, accommodations and other expenses the family incurred during the trip.

A week after the family’s plea was made public, the government pivoted and announced it will begin offering financial assistance to families when they need to leave the province to get the health care their children need.

Soron said she was brought to tears when she learned the news on Wednesday.

“Honesty, I’m in shock, “Soron said.

“I can’t believe my advocacy paid off.”

Hindley said the situation and details of the reimbursement program are still being developed, but the decision means families like the Sorons will have some expenses covered.

Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s health minister, says the government is taking steps to reduce the financial burden on parents forced to travel for their kids’ health care. (980 CJME file photo)

“Retroactive to April 1 of this year, the provincial government will be providing transportation and accommodation expenses for pediatric patients 16 years and younger,” Hindley explained on The Evan Bray Show Thursday.

“There is a process in place for this where prior approval needs to be sought.”

If approved, Hindley said coverage will be given for the child and a caregiver for transportation and hotels, up to $2,000 per trip.

Hindley noted the change will also help those seeking other procedures that can’t be done in the province because a lack of resources or a lack of specialist doctors.

Right now, Hindley said he doesn’t know how many families will be helped, but he thinks the program will cost the province around $1 million annually.

“We really won’t know until we kind of see which referrals come in,” he said. “I know cases of families who have sought care out of province, and sometimes out of country, and they’ve found that by their own means by either fundraising or through charities.

“We know that some other jurisdictions do this – it varies across the country – but with the conversations we were having we felt it was important that when it comes to kids’ care, and there’s surgeries and procedures that need to be preformed and we can’t do it here in Saskatchewan. It’s really important that financing isn’t a barrier for them to receive that care,” Hindley added.

Soron agreed, saying that dealing with a sick child puts enough stress onto families without adding financial burdens as well.

“This is enough of a stress that we don’t need the financial stress on top of it,” said Soron.

“We’re a middle-class family. We don’t feel like its our financial responsibility to pay for health care. We already pay taxes.”

Since going public with her story, Soron said a private donor came forward offering to cover the cost of the trip. Still, Soron said she felt compelled to keep pushing for coverage to help the families who can’t advocate for themselves.

“There was parents that had reached out to me that I didn’t know that told the stories of their struggles,” she said. “I just knew I had to keep fighting.”

As for why Saskatchewan doesn’t have any pediatric gastroenterologists, Hindley said the position is highly sought after, and Canada just isn’t producing enough of them.

“We’re working to recruit three pediatric gastroenterologist right now,” Hindley stated. “We’re close, I would say to hiring a couple here to come to Saskatchewan, but it’s a matter of training more of these individuals.”

According to Hindley, pediatric gastroenterologists are only trained in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

–with files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker