Documents reveal B.C. surgery deal-making

British Columbia and Saskatchewan were discussing cross-border surgeries months before the proposal was made public, internal documents confirm.

Under questioning from opposition MLAs in the legislature, B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon confirmed in October the existence of negotiations to have Saskatchewan patients undergo orthopedic surgery in B.C.  

'Taxpayers in B.C. paid for those facilities.' —B.C. NDP health critic Adrian Dix

The B.C. NDP obtained documents under  Saskatchewan's access to information regulations that confirm up to 350 patients may come to B.C. for knee replacements and another 90 for hip replacements.

The records – dating back to August 2009 – include several emails between officials in the two provinces.

The idea of what's been called "surgical tourism" doesn't make sense for patients in either province, B.C. New Democrat health critic Adrian Dix said Tuesday.

"In Saskatchewan it's expensive, … they'd be over-paying for services," Dix said. "In B.C., it's bad for patients because taxpayers in British Columbia paid for those facilities and now they're being told to wait in line."

The discussions between the provinces were going on while health authorities in B.C. were cutting costs, Dix said.

The B.C. Health Ministry has said it has never made any secret of the proposal.

The ministry hoped to charge the Saskatchewan government a premium to send patients to B.C. and then put that money toward health care for B.C. residents, Falcon said in October.

The documents obtained by the NDP said the Saskatchewan patients would utilize "unused capacity" in Lower Mainland operating rooms.