Saskatoon woman ‘shocked’ after health ministry denies travel coverage for life-saving care

Tammy O’Brien has a brain tumour on her vestibular auditory nerve.

In June of 2025, she learned the tumour was growing and needed Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a treatment not available in Saskatchewan.

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O’Brien booked the procedure in Edmonton and was informed by her surgeon’s office that travel and accommodation would not be covered. She then contacted the province’s Ministry of Health, where she said the minister’s assistant confirmed the same information.

During a phone conversation, O’Brien said she explained to the minister’s assistant that she is on a fixed income due to her disability and the travel costs would be a great hardship.

O’Brien said she was given a list of charities to access and was then told at the end of the call that she could try crowdfunding to cover the costs.

“It was humiliating,” she said.

“I was shocked, I felt dismissed and degraded.”

When O’Brien returned from Edmonton, she sent the $854 bill to the health minister’s office, asking for reimbursement.

“I saved as much as I could on my flight. I stayed at the outpatient residence, so it was a low cost for the government,” O’Brien said, adding she was again told the costs would not be covered.

O’Brien said she wants the province to reconsider its policies when it comes to covering travel costs, especially for those on a fixed income.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health noted that while the treatment was paid for, it does not cover patients’ travel expenses.

“The cost of the patient’s treatment was covered. Saskatchewan health provides coverage for publicly funded essential medical services such as hospital and physician visits, even if these are received in another province,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Health does not provide coverage or reimbursement for travel, accommodations and meal expenses incurred while receiving medical treatment outside of the province or country. In certain circumstances, the Canada Revenue Agency may allow travel, accommodation, and meal expenses to be claimed as tax deductions under the Income Tax Act. There are also a number of community organizations throughout Saskatchewan that may offer assistance to individuals and families in similar situations who may require travel for care, such as Hope Air and the Kinsmen Foundation.”

Sask. NDP critic Keith Jorgenson echoed O’Brien’s comments, stating travel accommodations should be reimbursed for patients who can’t afford access to treatments or with life threatening conditions.

“What we would hate to see is people dying because they can’t go and get treatment in other provinces, and that’s kind of the precedent that the government is setting,” Jorgenson said.

“Never, ever, should somebody have to set up a GoFundMe page in order to have a brain tumour removed,” he said. “That’s completely inappropriate.”

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