A Moncton man says he’s being forced to move out of province so he can have access to a new prosthetic leg.
“I have to go an move to another province for a few months to get a prosthesis,” said Marc Polley who lost in leg in a motorcycle accident in the late ’90s.
“It’s just wrong.”
In New Brunswick, prosthetic devices aren’t covered by medicare. But in Nova Scotia, where Polley is moving, prosthetic limbs are covered. He says moving is the only way he can afford to get a new prosthetic leg.
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Polley’s old prosthetic limb is held together with duct tape and hope. He says it’s seizing up and effectively broken.
“You can only stand up on crutches for so long for doing things around the house,” he said.
New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development does have a Prosthetic Program Policy which provides low-income amputees with up to $20,000 in funding.
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Polley, who lives on limited means, applied to the program and was overjoyed when he received a white card saying he was eligible.
But his joy quickly turned to frustration after he was then told he would have to wait months for his new leg and the cheapest one would cost at least $25,000.
That means he would have to come up with at least $5,000 of his own money that he just doesn’t have, since his home was damaged by fire in February.
Even when he discovered that he could buy a better quality prosthetic leg in Nova Scotia for only about $18,000, Polley was told by the New Brunswick government that if he wanted to fund through the Department of Social Development, his leg had to be purchased in his home province.
Global News reached out to the Department of Social Development to ask why that was the case but no one was available for comment on Monday.
Polley says that he’s now been forced to leave behind his home and move.
One of Polley’s only regrets and the one that will leave him heartbroken is to leave behind his friends and his 77-year-old father.
“I am my father’s only regular visitor,” he said.
According to War Amps Canada, New Brunswick is one of only a handful of provinces in Canada that does not cover at least some of the cost for prosthetic limbs through provincial medicare.
Polley says either needs to change. He says he is sharing his story in order to help other amputees.
He said the Department of Social Development needs to loosen its restrictions that seem to support those who make the limbs, instead of those who actually need them.
“Do you really think that amputees really need the extra challenge in life?” he asked.
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