FNHA Medical Transportation Bulletin
February 2024  |  Vol 03 |  No 1

Welcome! Wytkp! Gilakas’la! Shhweenustham!

Happy New Year! Journeys is now in its third year. Thank you for your readership as we strive to provide helpful content and updates for your community's Medical Transportation (MT) program. The Health Benefits and Services team appreciates your partnership in delivering and transforming the MT Benefit.

We hope you enjoyed the December issue of the Journeys bulletin. 2023 was a year of transformation, filled with many improvements across the MT Project to better serve Clients. We are excited to continue this work in 2024.

Learn more about the MT Transformation Journey and our progress so far by watching the YouTube video here.

Navigating winter weather conditions

As the winter weather persists, challenges may affect different types of travel. Supporting Client safety while travelling is of the utmost importance.

Winter weather can cause disruptions to travel routes, leading to traffic and flight delays or cancellations. Taking proactive measures is essential to minimize these disruptions.

Here are some key resources that will assist you in navigating winter weather challenges:

• DriveBC: Stay informed about winter road conditions, closures, and traffic delays so that you can plan alternative routes when necessary and minimize travel disruptions. Additionally, this website includes traffic cameras for certain roads, offering real-time visuals of current conditions.
• Google Maps: Access live updates on travel durations, road closures and traffic delays, providing valuable insights into the current state of travel routes.
• Environment and Natural Resources Canada: Stay ahead of changing weather patterns and alerts using weather applications that provide live updates on snowstorms, freezing rain, and other winter-related conditions.

After reviewing the provided resources, you may need to make necessary adjustments to travel arrangements for Clients facing difficulties returning home or following their planned routes. Please note that trips exceeding five days due to weather-related challenges must be submitted to MT Operations as an Exception.

We recognize that these circumstances can be challenging, but our team is here to support you throughout the process. If you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact MT Operations at 1-855-550-5454.

Kucén: making MT administration easier for your Community

Experience enhanced benefit administration with Kucén (pronounced koo-hen from the Secwepemctsin language), our new travel arrangement system. MT Operations began using Kucén for travel arrangements in April 2023, and it has since become an essential tool for numerous communities and First Nation organizations. Kucén marks a significant advancement in our commitment to streamlining processes and enhancing user experiences.

Communities using Kucén will no longer be required to complete and submit MT logs. Kucén will be able to capture the necessary data to replace program reporting and automate this process!

If your community is interested in adopting the new system, please participate in our Kucén Survey or contact us at mtproject@fnha.ca. 

Tip of the Month: Determining Client Eligibility

The first step to any travel request is determining the Client’s eligibility.

For a Client to be eligible for MT benefits, they must be:

• Registered with a valid Indian Status number; and
• A resident of BC with a valid Personal Health Number (PHN); or 
• An infant up to 24 months old, with at least one parent who is registered Status and a resident of BC.

Note: If you need to verify that a Client is registered Status, please get in touch with MT Operations or the HB Eligibility Department at 1-855-550-5454.

It's important to note that a spouse of a First Nations Client who is not registered Status themselves is not eligible to receive MT benefits.

After confirming the Client’s eligibility, it's essential to identify the community responsible for providing their MT benefits. This is particularly necessary for requests involving Clients living in your community but not members of your Nation, ensuring that their home community is not responsible.

This information is available in the Provision of MT Benefits document, which you can access in your MT User Guide Appendix or by reaching out to MT Operations.

If you are ever unsure about where a Client should be accessing their MT benefits, you can always reach out to MT Operations at 1-855-550-5454 for assistance.

Explore our New Health Benefits Factsheets!

We have created brand-new factsheets for each benefit area to provide Clients with an overview of their Health Benefits plan. You can access the factsheets on the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) website.

We encourage you to share these resources with your community members, ensuring everyone knows about their plan, who to contact for questions, and how to access their benefits.

MT Training for PT clerks

The MT Operations team hosts regular training sessions throughout the year. If you or any member of your community would like to attend an MT training session, please contact transportation@fnha.ca to sign up. One of our team members will be in touch about training dates and next steps.  

Print-Friendly Version of Journeys

In response to feedback from our Journeys survey, a print-friendly version of the monthly newsletter is now available. This will allow you to distribute Journeys among colleagues and other benefit administrators as needed.

All previous editions of our Journeys newsletter can be accessed on the MT Project page, and each edition will now also feature a dedicated PDF link, streamlining the process for those who prefer a print format.

Thank you