Lots of patients have been waiting for the prescription and catastrophic drug plan unveiled earlier this week.
One
of them is Saint John resident Mark Brennan, who tells Tide News, he
has a very serious kidney condition called PHP and the medication to
treat it would cost 6 figures if he had to pay for it out of pocket.
"If
it is covered under this new plan, it would certainly be a big load off
of my mind. I know I don't just speak for myself in that regard, a lot
of people have been waiting for this," he says.
Brennan says he's cautiously optimistic that the plan will be a game-changer for him and others in his situation.
The
Prosecution claims former Saint John Common Councillor Donnie Snook should spend
more time in prison and is appealing the 18 year sentence he received on
46 charges of sexually abusing boys.
Prosecutor
Karen Lee Lamrock argues Judge Alfred Brien erred by giving Snook too
much credit for time he served in jail prior to sentencing.
She also
says the judge failed to consider a section of the Criminal Code that
would require an offender to serve half their sentence or 10 years,
whichever is less, before coming up for parole. Snook is eligible for
parole after serving just over 6 years of his sentence.
At the trial, Lamrock told the court if Snook were sentenced on each individual charge, he would serve 75 years in prison.
The
Premier says while we can always wish that the new prescription and
catastrophic drug plan would have been rolled out sooner, he's more than
thrilled it's happening now.
Liberal
Leader Brian Gallant had asked the Health Minister if the plan is
voluntary in the first phase...David Alward tells Tide News it is to
begin with but by May of 2015 it will become mandatory for all New
Brunswickers without a health care plan to have insurance.
He says
the plan will be set up based on a person's ability to pay, meaning,
that means a person or family's income will determine the amount they
contribute.
Alward
says volunteers alone spent 6000 hours developing the plan, and that
number speaks to the amount of work that has gone into the creation of
the program. He says all of that work has produced a good end result for
New Brunswickers.
Part of the Lorneville Road is closed to traffic in both directions until
further notice because concerns over the structural integrity of a large
underground pipe which has compromised the road itself.
Repair options are being examined.
