---------- Original message ----------
From: "Gallant, Brian (LEG)" <Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca>
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2019 05:57:11 +0000
Subject: RE: Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for writing to the Leader of the Official Opposition of New
Brunswick. Please be assured that your e-mail will be reviewed.

If this is a media request, please forward your e-mail to
ashley.beaudin@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca

>. Thank you!

---

Nous vous remercions d’avoir communiqué avec le chef de l’opposition
officielle du Nouveau-Brunswick. Soyez assuré(e) que votre courriel
sera examiné.

Si ceci est une demande médiatique, prière de la transmettre à
ashley.beaudin@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca>. Merci!

---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2019 01:57:02 -0400
Subject: Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap
To: oldmaison@yahoo.com, Catherine.Harrop@cbc.ca, andre@jafaust.com,
David.Coon@gnb.ca, Kevin.A.Arseneau@gnb.ca, megan.mitton@gnb.ca,
kris.austin@gnb.ca, rick.desaulniers@gnb.ca, michelle.conroy@gnb.ca,
steve.murphy@ctv.ca, carl.urquhart@gnb.ca, hugh.flemming@gnb.ca,
denis.landry2@gnb.ca, brian.gallant@gnb.ca, Stephen.Horsman@gnb.ca,
blaine.higgs@gnb.ca, Dorothy.Shephard@gnb.ca, robert.mckee@gnb.ca,
robert.gauvin@gnb.ca, David.Akin@globalnews.ca,
Leanne.Fitch@fredericton.ca, Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca, Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
don.darling@saintjohn.ca, mike.holland@gnb.ca,
sutherland.marie@brunswicknews.com
Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, Newsroom@globeandmail.com,
news@kingscorecord.com, news919@rogers.com, news@dailygleaner.com

https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/02/woman-may-lose-home-after-learning-new.html

---------- Original message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 07:47:03 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Yo Chucky Leblanc You dudes yap about everything else
Howcome you and your MLA buddies won't care about Mrs Steele until she
is homeless
To: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com
[Le français suit.]

On behalf of Premier Blaine Higgs, I would like to acknowledge receipt

of your email.

Please note that your request will be processed as soon as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to write the Premier.

If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at

(506) 453-2144

Thank you

Thursday, 21 February 2019

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover
Florida cancer surgery

https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies

David Raymond Amos‏ @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 49 others
Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap

#nbpoli #cdnpoli

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cancer-new-brunswick-medicare-1.5037645

Woman's U.S. cancer surgery to be covered by Medicare after appeal
Doctors said Marilyn Steele had just months to live with inoperable tumour
Catherine Harrop · CBC News · Posted: Feb 28, 2019 5:45 PM AT

11 Comments

David Amos
Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap

---------- Original message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 07:47:03 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Yo Chucky Leblanc You dudes yap about everything else
Howcome you and your MLA buddies won't care about Mrs Steele until she is homeless
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

[Le français suit.]

On behalf of Premier Blaine Higgs, I would like to acknowledge receipt
of your email.

Please note that your request will be processed as soon as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to write the Premier.

If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
(506) 453-2144

Thank you
------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Au nom du premier ministre Blaine Higgs, j’accuse réception de votre courriel.

Veuillez noter que votre demande sera traitée dans les plus brefs délais.

Je vous remercie d’avoir pris le temps d’écrire au premier ministre.

S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le
Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144.

Merci.

---------- Original message ----------
From: "Gallant, Brian (LEG)" <Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 07:47:03 +0000
Subject: RE: Yo Chucky Leblanc You dudes yap about everything else Howcome you

and your MLA buddies won't care about Mrs Steele until she is homeless
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for writing to the Leader of the Official Opposition of New
Brunswick. Please be assured that your e-mail will be reviewed.

If this is a media request, please forward your e-mail to
ashley.beaudin@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca

Howcome you and your MLA buddies won't care about Mrs Steele until she is homeless
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

I will be out of office February 21, 2019 to March 4, 2019. Je serai
hors du bureau Fev 21, 2019 - Mars 4, 2019.

Due to a very high volume of incoming email to this account there is
an unusual backlog of pending responses. Your message may not be
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Police Force, 311 Queen St, Fredericton, NB E3B 1B1 or phone (506)
460-2300. If this is an emergency related to public safety please call
911.

En raison du grand nombre de courriels que reçoit cette messagerie, il
se peut qu’une réponse tarde un peu à venir. Si vous avez besoin d'une
réponse officielle, veuillez envoyer votre demande par écrit à mon
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S'il s'agit d'une urgence de sécurité publique, faites le 911.

This e-mail communication (including any or all attachments) is
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GOV-OP-073

---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 07:47:09 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Yo Chucky Leblanc You dudes yap about everything else

Howcome you and your MLA buddies won't care about Mrs Steele until she is homeless
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.

If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
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This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 03:46:59 -0400
Subject: Yo Chucky Leblanc You dudes yap about everything else Howcome you

Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, don.darling@saintjohn.ca, mike.holland@gnb.ca,
sutherland.marie@brunswicknews.com
Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, Newsroom@globeandmail.com,
news@kingscorecord.com, news919@rogers.com, news@dailygleaner.com

https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/02/woman-may-lose-home-after-learning-new.html

Thursday, 21 February 2019

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover
Florida cancer surgery

https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies

‏ @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 49 others
Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap

#nbpoli #cdnpoli

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cancer-new-brunswick-medicare-1.5037645

Woman's U.S. cancer surgery to be covered by Medicare after appeal

Doctors said Marilyn Steele had just months to live with inoperable tumour

Catherine Harrop · CBC News · Posted: Feb 28, 2019 5:45 PM AT

Marilyn and Lesley Steele give a sigh of relief after hearing Marilyn's surgery is now covered by Medicare. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)

After facing the prospect of selling her home to pay for surgery she had in the U.S., cancer patient Marilyn Steele just found out Medicare will cover the bill.

"I just felt like a load was lifted off my shoulders, our shoulders," the Stanley woman said Thursday. "And that now I could just concentrate fully on doing the things I need to do to make myself well."

Steele was diagnosed late last year with an extremely aggressive form of thyroid cancer she was told by her Fredericton doctors was inoperable and would kill her in a few months.

David and Marilyn Steele thought they may have to sell the family home in Stanley, about 40 kilometres from Fredericton, to pay for Marilyn's surgery. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)

Her daughter, Lesley Steele, immediately began researching alternatives and found a willing surgeon in the U.S. Unable to delay a decision, her mother few to Florida for the operation.

Shortly after, the family learned that Medicare refused to cover those costs, saying the surgery could have been done in Ontario or Alberta.

The bill came to about $110,000 US, so Marilyn and David Steele considered selling their home to pay it.

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

But in a letter to Marilyn, Health Minister Hugh J. Flemming said her appeal was considered by the Insured Services Appeal Committee.

"Having considered the Committee's recommendation along with the urgent nature of your case, I hereby authorize payment in full of the medical and professional expenses," he wrote.

Lesley Steele took the call from Health Minister Ted Flemming informing the family of the decision. He said that on the recommendation of the appeal board, and because of the urgency of her mother's situation, the province would reimbursing Steeles over $99,000 US.

Health Minister Hugh Fleming's letter to Marilyn Steele. (Submitted by Marilyn Steele)

"He told me that the system had failed my mother, and that he was pleased to be the one to deliver to me the news that they were making it right," Lesley said. "So it was the most amazing phone call I've had in a long time."

Her mother said she wants people who may be in her position, hearing a tumour is inoperable, to not give up.

"I would tell them to not take no for an answer. And not just sit there in a chair and have someone describe to you how you're going to die. But stand up, and say, 'I'm going to live, I want to fight to live.'"

CBC News

Medicare to pay for cancer patient's U.S. treatment

Medicare has changed its mind about reimbursing cancer patient Marilyn Steele and will pay her $144,000 medical bill from surgery in the U.S. 0:50

Marilyn spent some time in Toronto, receiving chemotherapy. She recently returned to New Brunswick and said it's good to be home.

"I love the snow, I've always loved winter. I love the sound of the wood furnace running. I love the fact that family and friends drop in every day to see me. And it's perfect, actually."

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices

11 Comments

David Amos

Good Boy Teddy now lay back down and take a nap

https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies

‏ @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 49 others
Methinks Mr Flemming should fix this in a heartbeat before I raise a lot of Hell N'esy Pas?

#nbpoli #cdnpoli

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cancer-new-brunswick-medicare-1.5026696

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

1288 Comments

Commenting is now closed for this story.

David Amos

Methinks Mr Flemming should fix this in a heartbeat before I raise a lot of Hell N'esy Pas?

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

Marilyn Steele's doctor should have checked domestic availability before seeing U.S. surgeon, province says

Catherine Harrop · CBC News · Posted: Feb 21, 2019 6:00 AM AT

Marilyn Steele's surgery bills from the U.S. totalled close to $144,000. New Brunswick Medicare won't pay, saying her doctor should have investigated Canadian options for surgery. (Submitted)

Marilyn Steele says she has her life back — but she and her husband may lose their home — after she underwent cancer surgery in Florida at the family's own cost because her doctor told them he and his colleagues agreed the procedure couldn't be done in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.

Steele, 73, a resident of Nashwaak Bridge, about an hour outside Fredericton, had surgery in Tampa within days of her diagnosis in December. She now has $144,000 in surgery bills that the province of New Brunswick refuses to pay.

Her roller-coaster ride of pain and panic began on Dec. 7, when Dr. James Belyea gave her the news she had anaplastic thyroid cancer — a rare cancer that he said would kill her in months.

Steele said Belyea told her and her family there was nothing he could do for her, and then painted a terrifying picture of what she could expect at the end.

CBC News

Fredericton woman prepares to sell her home to pay for cancer treatment

Family may lose home after learning Medicare won't cover lifesaving surgery 1:24

"The tests were showing that the tumours were invading my carotid artery," Steele said from Toronto, where she's just finished 40 rounds of radiation treatment.

"And he said the very last thing would be that that artery would rupture. And it would be very gruesome for my family to watch."

Steele said she asked the doctor, "'What about me?'" and that he responded: "'You'll bleed to death.'"

Steele is dealing with anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare, fast-moving form of the disease that would kill her in months. (Submitted)

That's when Steele's daughter Lesley began asking questions as Belyea explained the horrifying diagnosis.

Steele's tumour was wrapped around the base of her carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain, neck and face. Lesley said Belyea, an ear nose and throat specialist, and head and neck surgeon, told them he showed her mother's CT scan to other doctors but no one in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia could help.

"He just said, 'I would highly, highly encourage you to seek care elsewhere,'" Lesley said.
The only other option offered to her was radiation and chemotherapy, which may have extended her life three to 12 months.

Dr. Gary Clayman is the Tampa, Fla., surgeon who performed the cancer surgery on her within days of her diagnosis in Canada. (Submitted)

48-hour deadline

Lesley said Belyea hadn't suggested where the Steeles should look for care. Being a veterinarian, she immediately started calling her own medical contacts and searching for anyone who might save her mother's life. Her search turned up surgeons in the U.S. and Europe, so she turned to ones in the U.S.

By the next morning, Lesley said, she had received a call back from Dr. Gary Clayman, a thyroid cancer surgeon in Tampa, who said he would see her mother, but it had to be soon, as the cells with her type of cancer divide rapidly.

"We had from 8:30 in the morning Saturday morning until Monday morning at 8 a.m. — so 48 hours we had to get to Tampa," she said.

A letter saying travel is never covered under New Brunswick Medicare unless all domestic options are exhausted. (CBC)

At the clinic in Florida, the Steeles pooled their credit cards, hoping their limits would cover the costs.
By Wednesday, Steele had undergone a successful seven-hour surgery, followed by 40 rounds of targeted radiation in Toronto, then daily chemotherapy pills for life.

Midway through radiation treatments in Toronto, Lesley heard that New Brunswick Medicare would not pay for any of her care in the U.S.

Prior approval

On Dec. 10, before Steele underwent surgery, Belyea had written a letter of support to New Brunswick Medicare for the family's choice to head to Florida. The letter said Steele "was not considered a surgical candidate in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia," mainly because the surgery was too complicated.

Belyea noted Clayman was one of the world's leading surgeons for the complicated surgery.
However, Dr. Zeljko Bolesnikov, the medical consultant to New Brunswick Medicare, read Belyea's letter on Jan. 3 and wrote back that out-of-country services are only covered if there is proof no Canadian centres could perform them.

In Steele's case, there wasn't any proof Belyea had tried to find out if other hospitals in Canada could do the procedure, Bolesnikov wrote.

After surgery, Steele needed 40 rounds of targeted radiation in Toronto and will have to take daily chemo pills for life. (Submitted)

In a second letter to New Brunswick Medicare, Belyea said he was unaware of any legislation that required him to call every centre in Canada to see if a surgeon could do the work.

"In the time it would've taken for Marilyn Steele to be assessed at every academic centre in Canada, she would have almost certainly died of airway obstruction or had distant metastasis," he wrote.

Bolesnikov replied that three hospitals — one each in Toronto, London, Ont., and Edmonton — could have done the surgery. He also said all other provinces agreed they wouldn't have approved a referral outside Canada.

From the Steele family's perspective, New Brunswick Medicare's refusal to cover the surgery appears to be punishing the patient for a doctor's failure to know or communicate Medicare rules. The family has appealed the decision.

"I'm very frustrated at what appears to be a technicality between someone claiming to not know the process and someone claiming that the process has to be followed in order for something to happen," said Lesley.

"Those two sides don't involve my mother at all."

Marilyn is receiving a monthly payment from New Brunswick Medicare for her medical stay in Toronto, and a GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $16,000 for the family.

Who pays?

The questions remains whether the Steeles are responsible for the out-of-country bills because their doctor didn't get pre-approval from New Brunswick Medicare.

Bolesnikov said it shouldn't have been left to the Steele family to check out other possibilities for surgery. Doctors, he said, are trained to check multiple centres of excellence.

The Steeles may have to sell their home in the country to pay for Marilyn's lifesaving surgery. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)

"You can't be a surgeon without knowing who does what in your field," he said in an interview.
In one of his letters to Belyea, Bolesnikov also said families should be made aware that "going outside the country will be their own responsibility."

Belyea did not return calls from the CBC.

Dr. Ed Schollenberg, registrar of the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons, said he hasn't seen a case quite like this one, where the cancer is extremely fast moving.

He said normally a wait of a few days or a week doesn't matter and allows time for pre-approval from New Brunswick Medicare. Schollenberg also said it has lists of doctors and their specialties, and can generally do the checking for the doctor.

He said the Department of Health has intervened to overrule some provincial Medicare decisions, but generally they involved coverage for expensive drugs.

Patient's health 'the priority'

New Brunswick Health Minister Ted Flemming did not agree to an interview, and said in an email he can't talk about specific cases.

"I can tell you that there is a formal process in place for out-of-country Medicare coverage which we are in the process of going through now. The health of any patient is always the priority."

Marilyn Steele speaks just above a whisper because of her surgery and radiation.

"We're not rich people," she said. "We're both retired on a small pension. And the only asset that we have is our home. And it's a very modest three-bedroom bungalow in the country."

Despite fears she will soon have to sell the house to cover her medical costs and perhaps move into an apartment, Steele smiled at the thought of returning to New Brunswick.

"Oh, just [to] look out my front window at the snowbanks. I just want to be home."

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices

David Raymond Amos Round 3

Thursday 21 February 2019

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

Woman's U.S. cancer surgery to be covered by Medicare after appeal

Doctors said Marilyn Steele had just months to live with inoperable tumour

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

Woman may lose home after learning New Brunswick Medicare won't cover Florida cancer surgery

Marilyn Steele's doctor should have checked domestic availability before seeing U.S. surgeon, province says

48-hour deadline

Prior approval

Who pays?

Patient's health 'the priority'

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