An injured worker supported by the Workers Compensation Board is suppose to have his medical expenses covered by the board but what happens is that these expenses are covered by the provincial medical care programme and each year the board is showing a massive surplus simply because the costs it collects money for, from employers, is being paid for by tax payers through the medical care programme. This same thing is occuring with injured accident victims as SGI like the Workers Compensation Board is not paying for the medical and drug bills but letting them be handled by Medicare. Where's The Money Going Regina - Sunday, June 10, 2001 - By: Carey Heilmann Where to begin this situation has so many angles and twists that it is hard to know where to start. I went to the drugstore to pick up my prescription of painkillers. The bill was (I am using approximate amounts) $140.00 less the drug plan $100.00. That means I pay $40.00!! The $40.00 gets billed directly to the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board. I pay nothing and go home. Wonderful!! As I am driving home it hits me, the WCB saved $100.00 not me! In fact the good people (taxpayers) of Saskatchewan just put $100.00 extra in the WCB coffers. A $100.00 just given to the WCB to do with as they want. But wait, more than that, the taxpayers, I am one to by the way, are also giving me a lot of money every time I buy a drug or need a drug. I had an inner ear infection and went to get the prescrition filled and saved a ton of moneyÖthank you everyone for pitching and helping like this!!! But here is the kicker I donít want you to pitch in!!!!! I called the Sask drug plan wanting to inform them of this situation and what I encountered shocked the hell out of me!!!!! Well not really because I expect bureaucratic incompetence and distrust of the general public. I attempted to inform the good folks at the drug plan, but they thought that I was trying to scam more benefits for myself and treated me like I was some kind of criminal. I thought I would call the politicians in charge, but then I remembered from the last time I tried to get them to help on a similar multi-million dollar taxpayer loss situation, and how they just ignored me and didn't want to deal with me, then I thought I could call the Provincial Auditor, but he can only investigate and make recommendations. So, here it is folks, a situation where there are hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on one case being wasted and you just can't stop the leakage. Oh I tried to call the opposition, but they don't return my calls!!! Or letters for that matter!! If it is happening to me, it is happening to hundreds maybe thousands of injured workers every year. I don't know how much money is being wasted, thrown away, or whatever you want to call it but when you try and tell someone about it, they just don't care or in my case they thought I was trying to scam some cash! The fact of the matter is that when a citizen such as myself has tried to be a friend to our government, they have viewed me as the enemy even though I am not! Carey Heilman