Pubdate: Thu, 05 Nov 2015
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Geordon Omand
Page: 10

FEES AT TREATMENT CLINICS PROMPT LAWSUIT

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

Documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court 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," Gratl 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 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" 
to receive methadone treatment from Yale Medical Centre in 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 clients' monthly support allowance, the documents state.

"This is not OK," said Adrienne Smith, a lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society.

"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, Smith said.

"For people on income assistance the amount of the fee is a 
tremendous hardship. Eighteen dollars a month could mean the 
difference between fresh vegetables or not."

Gratl estimated as many as 12,000 people could fall into the same 
category as Shaver and be involved in a 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, Gratl said.

None of the allegations has been proven 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