A Winnipeg woman was surprised when she had to foot the bill for a physiotherapy session she thought would be covered by Manitoba Health following a joint replacement.
Claudia Garcia de la Huerta, 50, lived with severe arthritis in her knees for 12 years before getting one knee replaced in 2022 and another this February.
After her second surgery, Garcia de la Huerta used a physiotherapy program started by the previous Progressive Conservative government in April 2023. It covered up to six individual or 10 group sessions for people who had elective hip and knee replacement surgeries dating back to January 2023.
She started weekly appointments at the end of February and went to the first five sessions with no issues — but was asked to pay the full $86 cost for her sixth session.
“I went to leave and they said, ‘Hey, hey, hey, you owe money,'” Garcia de la Huerta told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.
LISTEN | A Manitoba woman has questions about why one of her post-operative physio sessions for knee replacement was not covered by Manitoba Health:
Information Radio – MB8:20A Manitoba woman has questions about why one of her physio sessions for post-op knee replacement was not covered by Manitoba Health
A Manitoba woman says she was covered for five physiotherapy sessions through a provincial government program following a knee replacement. But was then surprised that she had to pay out of pocket for her final session. Information Radio Host Marcy Markusa spoke with her to hear her experience.
She was told her physio provider no longer had access to the program, and she would have to pay out of pocket.
When the program was announced by the PC government on April 5, 2023, it was described as “an interim agreement until a more permanent billing arrangement is established, which is expected to take place in the coming months,” a news release said at the time.
The newly elected NDP government extended the program for a month. The province confirmed it did not end the plan but could not give specific details about the type of coverage provided.
“Budget 2024 provides provincial coverage of post-surgical hip and knee replacement physiotherapy,” a provincial spokesperson said.
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said they were concerned to hear someone was charged for a physio appointment in a voicemail to Information Radio on Monday.
“This is something that never should have happened,” Asagwara said. “Anyone who has had to pay out of pocket will immediately be reimbursed.”
Their staff is reaching out to people that have contacted them with questions.
The program is “ongoing for Manitobans,” Asagwara said.
Physio important for recovery
After her first knee replacement, Garcia de la Huerta was working for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and had benefits that helped cover the cost. She lost her job six months ago, so she relied on the provincial program to lessen the financial burden of the crucial treatment.
Following this type of surgery, physio is important in regaining mobility so patients are able to bend their knees and walk normally again, information shared by Seven Oaks General Hospital says.
On average, patients should get treatment one or two weeks after knee replacement surgery and three or four weeks after a hip replacement to monitor for complications and restore movement and strength.
“It’s painful. It’s a very long process and you start to look at physio as torture,” Garcia de la Huerta said. “But … it’s so important.”
Garcia de la Huerta said she made physio appointments before her most recent operation.
She was happy to learn the province is extending the coverage but wishes they had more clearly communicated how they were going to do that.
“I think that’s fantastic. These surgeries are so expensive,” Garcia de la Huerta said. “Without the physio, what’s the point? It goes hand-in-hand with the surgery.”
Garcia de la Huerta had to go to appointments twice a week for two months for her previous operation, but feels like she will need less this time because her other knee is done, so her mobility is already improved.
She said it’s not hard to find a physiotherapist in the city, and she’s happy the program is still in place, because older people with fixed incomes might not be able to afford the treatment, and she wants everyone to have access to the best care possible.
Roughly 40 per cent of people that had knee replacements in Canada in 2018 and 2019 were age 65 to 74, a 2020 report from the Canadian Joint Replacement Institute says.