Mleisterof Heat Logisatve Bling Regina, Saskatchenan Sés 083, NOV 2 8 2016 The Honourable Jane Philpott, P. Minister of Health Government of Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9 Dear Minister Philpott, Thank you for your letter dated November 2, 2016, regarding the delivery of MRI services in Saskatchewan. In an address to the Canadian Medical Association in August of this year, you noted that finding solutions to problems in Canada’s healthcare system will not be solved by spending more money; rather, solutions should be found through innovation (CBC News, August 23, 2016). | couldn’t agree more. am pleased to share that since the proclamation of The MRI Facilities Licensing Act, this innovative legislation has led to more than 2,200 MRI scans, all of which have been provided at no cost to the taxpayer, and resulted in nearly $1 million in savings to the public healthcare system. In addition, over the last three month reporting period, the total number of patients waiting for an MRI scan has dropped by more than 700 patients. Perhaps most important to your concerns, over 1,100 additional patients have been taken off the public wait list due to the introduction of the private pay MRI framework. | think you and | can both agree that the reduction of 1,100 patients from a wait list is an enormous benefit to the public health system as a whole. Saskatchewan will continue to provide MRIs under The MAI Facilities Licensing Act ~ an act that is a concrete example of the innovation you reference - and fully intends to proclaim in the coming months legislation that expands the provision of “2-for-1” diagnostics to CT services. Again, thank you for writing. Sincerely, im Reiter Minister of Health