SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - There's a growing chorus of opposition from MLAs who say the health department is speeding into another unrealistic implementation deadline to revise its extended health benefits package.

"I can't see how they can do the research we're asking them to do, get the input from the people of the NWT, and get the recommendations and come up with a solid plan that's in the best interests of everybody by September," Great Slave MLA Glen Abernethy said on Monday. "It's insane."

The department plans to announce changes to the program at the end of April and implement them by Sept. 1.

Health and Social Services Minister Sandy Lee has repeatedly said no changes have been finalized and the department is open to feedback. One option under consideration is an annual premium for all non-aboriginal Northerners that would support a co-payment system, where people would pay a portion for prescriptions, eyeglasses, and other items not normally covered by health care, and the GNWT would cover the rest.

The territorial government has budgeted $8.4 million this year for extended health care coverage, not including money set aside for Metis health benefits.

"We're not going out to say we should do this or we should do that. Co-payment is a possible option," she said on Feb. 23.

The department encountered fierce opposition last winter when Lee announced changes to the program, which would have seen some seniors and people with disabilities lose or face a reduction to their extended health care benefits while more low-income families would receive coverage. Public uproar caused Lee to pull back and promise to do more consultation before making changes.

Since then, the department has researched who uses extended benefits and is holding six public meetings across the territory later this month to discuss the findings.

Lee is confident that people will reach the same conclusions the department has already.

"Any fair-minded people that look at the facts will see that the facts take us to a certain direction, and that's what we want to take out to the public," Lee said March 1.

But Abernethy said the research is incomplete. He said he wanted to know what would happen if the benefit structure changes - for instance, who wouldn't be able to afford to live here if they had to pay a portion of their health care. Co-payments could mean shelling out of pocket for a proportion of services that are now fully covered, like eyeglass prescriptions for seniors or Crohn's Disease medications. He said complete information was crucial in order to decide where an income threshold would be.

"On principle, co-payments might be a good direction to go, it might even be a reasonable solution. But with the lack of information and analysis, we can't make that decision," he said.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro said public consultations would be more effective if the department presented several possible options and asked people to weigh in on them, as opposed to inviting people to give feedback on statistics about who currently uses the system.

While Lee maintains the department doesn't have a draft plan, assistant deputy minister Dana Heide said he expects public consultations to result in specific changes: more people will be eligible for extended health coverage but they'll also have to pay for it.

He said the department plans to extend coverage for non-aboriginal Northerners.

"We're changing who's eligible, who pays and how you pay for all this," he said.

Heide said the changes would benefit people without private insurance - for example, independent business people or single parents.

Residents, including seniors, over a yet-to-be-determined income threshold will pay part of the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, he said.

"If you are a low-income person, depending where we draw that line, we'll cover you 100 per cent," he said.

Both Ontario and British Columbia have implemented health care premium systems. In British Columbia, people pay Medical Services Plan premiums based on family size and net income. Those earning more than $22,000 pay a monthly rate ranging from $11 to $57 for one person, and between $20 and $114 for families.

B.C. residents receive a subsidy that varies from 20 to 100 per cent on medically required services depending on their income, but that doesn't cover extended benefits for prescriptions or eye glasses.