Nouvelles
Telegraph Journal
p. A1, samedi, 10 janvier 2009
New RHA officials bill government for almost $250K
The province's eight previous health care administrations were amalgamated into two entities - regional health authorities A and B - effective Sept. 1, 2008.
In the three months to Nov. 30 of last year, executives and board members of the new authorities racked up nearly a quarter of a million dollars in travel expenses and allowances, government documents reveal.
One executive billed the government $8,530 for travel and living expenses, while a board member was paid $23,500 in daily allowances and stipend pay.
The Opposition Conservatives say the expenses are a "ludicrous" use of taxpayers' dollars - especially because amalgamating the health authorities was intended to save millions.
In all, executives from both the new authorities submitted travel expenses of $117,176 for items such as mileage, food and accommodations.
Executives with the new anglophone Regional Health Authority B, based in Miramichi, claimed $59,932 for travel.
Donald Peters, the organization's president and CEO, submitted travel expenses totalling $7,615. Dr. Edouard Hendriks, the vice-president of medical affairs, billed slightly more: $7,705.
Janet Hogan, the health authority's vice-president of communications and community relations, charged $5,338 in travel costs, while Jeff Carter, the vice-president of support services, claimed $6,041.
Over at the francophone Regional Health Authority A, based in
Jean-Claude Pelletier topped the list. The head of the Dr. Georges-L.
Lise Roy, vice-president of planning and protection of personal information, billed $7,727, while Suzanne Robichaud, vice-president of primary health care, claimed $5,915.
Andrée Robichaud, the health authority's president and CEO, claimed travel expenses of $4,791.
And then there are the health authorities' new 17-person boards, where members are paid $500 for a day's work and $250 for a half-day's work. The board chairperson gets an annual stipend of $30,000.
Health authority A board members were paid $49,500 in personal allowances and charged $24,255 in travel expenses. Those bills were highlighted by board chairwoman Aldéa Landry, who received $23,500 in allowance and stipend pay and $5,588 for travel costs.
At health authority B, board members combined for $36,050 in allowances and $14,502 in travel expenses. That included John Laidlaw with $17,000 in pay and $872 in travel expenses.
The total cost of executive travel and board members' travel and pay over the three months: $241,483.
"Over a year it's a million bucks," said Conservative health critic Margaret-Ann Blaney.
"This is ludicrous. Mike Murphy initially said this was going to save a substantial amount of money. The reverse is actually happening - taxpayers are paying a lot of money," she said, referring to Health Minister Mike Murphy's reforms.
Blaney, the MLA for Rothesay, said it is not the individual executives or board members who are at fault. Rather, it's the fault of Murphy for implementing changes that actually cost taxpayers money.
"I don't want to point a finger at these people. This all goes back to Mike. It's just a bad decision," she said.
"He said he was going to save money. That's obviously not the case. These are big bucks to be paying out."
Murphy's decision to amalgamate the health administrations initially met with boisterous objections and now faces a court challenge by a francophone group questioning the amalgamation on constitutional grounds.
When he announced the decision last year, Murphy said the move would save millions of dollars by centralizing so-called backroom services such as laundry and payroll.
Murphy expected to save $4.6 million a year within three years, and $19.4 million annually after five years.
As well, he pledged to cut the number of vice-presidents in the system by half.
The health department has been unable to confirm actual savings sionce the new authorities were implemented, despite Murphy's insistence that dollars have been trimmed.
Murphy would not comment Friday. The Moncton North MLA has recently refused to talk with reporters from the Telegraph-Journal, citing disapproval with the paper's editorial stance.
Andrée Robichaud, the head of health authority A, said expenses were likely high during the initial months as the new authorities were set up.
For example, she had to travel to every facility in her health authority - from Edmundston to
"The real savings are going to be in the long term," she said.
Donald Peters, who heads authority B, says travel costs are to be expected when trying to pool together four organizations that include 13,000 staff and 1,000 doctors - stretched over two-thirds of the province.
"There's a tremendous amount of startup cost with this thing," he said. "It's part of establishing a major organization.
"You're going to peak at the start. Costs will go down."