Dealing with health costs
Cape Breton child must travel to Toronto for eye care
Norah Cameron-Ranni’s been to Toronto at least 12 times over the last 10 months for appointments with doctors who are trying to save her vision and her left eye.
The fight to save the fouryear-old’s eye started with a cornea transplant in March. While the surgery was successful, there have been complications including an eye infection in August. Now there is a growth developing on the new cornea.
Now Norah’s mother and father, Shauna Cameron and Matt Ranni, have to decide if it is worth the risk to have the growth removed.
Stressful as that is, on Oct. 12, Cameron received a phone call from MSI telling her Norah had reached her yearly limit for travel and accommodation support. Norah has another medical appointment in Toronto next week.
“While we are thankful for all the reimbursement we do get from the government, I get frustrated because I still feel if our province can’t provide the doctor for our child — and I have no choice but to take her to another province — I feel like there should be more support and help,” the 30-year-old
mother of two said.
“It’s not like we are just opting out to go there because we want to. Even if you just look at it from a Cape Breton standpoint her doctor isn’t even in Cape Breton. It’s either Halifax or Toronto.”
Spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness, Tracy Barron, confirmed when a patient is approved for out-of-province travel because the services aren’t available in Nova Scotia, they are entitled to 12 trips per year. Maximum reimbursement per trip is $1,000.
“For residents who require financial assistance beyond 12 trips per year there may be assistance from Hope Air; a nonprofit company which provides free air travel for those who meet their eligibility criteria (hopeair.ca),” she told the Post via email.
“In some situations, residents are eligible for financial assistance from the Department of Community Services.”
However, after the Cape Breton Post reached out to the Department of Health, Cameron was asked to contact the insurance services division (MSI) again and was provided with different information.
“She said we have one more trip they will cover and that Norah’s renewal is up in December not January,” Cameron explained.
“She also said if we got a note from her original doctor at the IWK who made the recommendation, then Norah might be eligible for an extension. She didn’t tell us that before.”
Cameron said she is grateful for the news and support from the community. But she is still unsure how much more MSI will cover. They also don’t know how many more trips Norah will need to make to Toronto or how they are going to continue to pay for it.
Cameron is on unemployment insurance after working for a renovations company during the summer and Ranni just started a full-time job on Sept. 10. Before that Cameron was working a casual job and Ranni was working part time.
“Literally every single cent we get goes back on the credit cards. We’re at a point we can’t even make minimum payments,” she admitted. “Our family helps out as much as they can but even then, they can only help so much.”