Hi folks!

Thank you so much for your help so far— we need to keep putting pressure on Minister Green. The Government of the Northwest Territories is currently asking for feedback on the on proposed changes to Extended Health Benefits Policy— and we need your help to make our voices heard. 

We ask that you fill the survey— we have drafted a cheat sheet for you. All you need to do is the following :

1. Go to this link and answer the 11 questions. If we all use the same response, our voice is more likely to be heard. We suggest you use the following responses— all you need to do is copy-paste the following answers:

> Question 1 : Select “Strongly Agree”
> Question 2 : Select “Strongly Disagree”
> Question 3 : Copy-paste this answer : “I have concerns about subjecting all drugs to the cost-sharing model proposed. Some medications are just too expensive, such as HIV PrEP/Truvada. Even with a cost-sharing model, the out-of-pocket cost will still be too high for individuals to afford. The 70:30 co-insurance model will still leave individuals, especially low-income people, with a high level of out-of-pocket costs each month for prescription drugs. This is particularly worrying for costly drugs like HIV PrEP, also known as Truvada— or for other drugs used in Treatment As Prevention programs for HIV.
> Question 4 : Select “Neutral”
> Question 5 : Select “Yes”
> Question 6 : Select “Neutral”
> Question 7 : Select “Strongly Agree”
> Question 8 : Select “Neutral”
> Question 9 : Select “Strongly Agree”
> Question 10 : Select “Strongly Disagree”
> Question 11 : Copy-paste this answer : “Even with the 70:30 co-insurance for those above the base income, the cost of some drugs will still be too high. At roughly $250 per month, HIV PrEP is an extremely expensive drug and is unaffordable for many at-risk people. The proposed cost-sharing mechanism ensures that those with “incomes below the family adjusted low-income threshold” will not have any cost-sharing applied. However, the 70:30 co-insurance model means that individuals with “low-moderate income” – as low as $34,638.57 – looking to obtain PrEP will still need to spend $75 per month out of pocket for the drug. The solution to this is to make PrEP free for everyone, regardless of income. Other provinces have already done this, and I believe the NWT should do the same. For question 8 : the income threshold for dependents should be increased, but the proposed increase of $9451 is woefully insufficient."

2. Chip in $5 if you can— this gives us strong visibility; 

3. Send an email to Minister Green to let her know that you support this petition. 

I will keep you updated about next steps— I am working with change.org to deploy a larger campaign and we will need your help there as well. Please don't hesitate reaching out to me if you'd like to get involved : gagnon.will@gmail.com

All the best from Yellowknife NT :) 

THANK YOU! :) 

Will