Pubdate: Thu, 05 Nov 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Geordon Omand
Page: S3

POOREST ARE FORCED TO BUY METHADONE, DOCUMENTS CLAIM

B.C. Is Partner to 'Unethical' Scheme, Lawyer Says

The British Columbia government is allowing private 
methadone-dispensing clinics to charge recovering heroin addicts for 
drug treatment by taking money from their income-assistance cheques, 
claims legal action launched against the province.

Documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday advancing what 
could be a class-action lawsuit claim private methadone clinics 
demand $18.34 a month from people enrolled in the methadone 
maintenance program in exchange for treatment.

Lawyer Jason Gratl, acting on behalf of the representative plaintiff, 
Laura Shaver, said the money is paid automatically from their 
government-provided benefits. "This scheme is deeply unethical," he said.

"If the province wants to compensate doctors and pharmacists for 
additional hardship and troubles associated with the methadone 
program, they're free to do so, but they shouldn't do so on the backs 
of those least able to pay."

The documents claim that Ms. Shaver, who is addicted to heroin and 
unable to pay for treatment or counselling, signed a 
government-drafted Alcohol and Drug Fee Authorization Agreement 
"unwillingly and under duress" in order to receive methadone 
treatment from Yale Medical Centre in downtown Vancouver.

The fee agreement is $60, reduced by $41.66 through a 
government-provided Alcohol and Drug Supplement. The remaining $18.34 
is drawn from a client's monthly support allowance, the documents state.

"This is not okay," said Adrienne Smith, a lawyer with the legal 
advocacy organization Pivot Legal Society, which aims to defend 
society's vulnerable and marginalized. "Medically necessary treatment 
should be provided without user fees."

The fee is not charged at publicly operated clinics, but space 
restrictions mean private clinics are sometimes the only option for 
methadone patients to access treatment, Ms. Smith added. "For people 
on income assistance, the amount of the fee is a tremendous 
hardship," she said. "Eighteen dollars a month could mean the 
difference between fresh vegetables or not."

Mr. Gratl estimated as many as 12,000 people could fall in the same 
category as Ms. Shaver and be involved in the class-action lawsuit, 
though it has yet to receive approval by a court.

The annual cost of methadone treatment per patient in the province is 
just over $4,200, according to court documents. The cost of untreated 
opioid dependence is between $40,000 and $45,000, factoring in 
considerations such as health care, law enforcement and other social 
costs, the document states.

The government's policy is also a barrier to people accessing 
treatment, Mr. Gratl said. "It just doesn't make any sense because 
the methadone program has such high social advantages; the tradeoffs 
are just so heavily in favour of methadone maintenance," he said.

"It's to everyone's benefit, including the people on methadone, to 
have this program running strong. So any kind of disincentive to 
entering the program seems to be a species of tomfoolery."

None of the allegations have been proved in court. The B.C. 
government didn't return a request for comment on the lawsuit.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom