The Reeve of Piney says Manitoba Health has set dates for public meetings to clarify health coverage for residents of the municipality. Wayne Anderson says there has been ongoing confusion about which medical services are covered at hospitals in Roseau and Warroad, Minnesota. During recent months, he says those hospitals have been asking people from Piney to sign a waiver that says they will pay for their treatment if the Province of Manitoba decides not to cover it. This has caused a lot of concern.

Reeve Wayne Anderson.

Anderson says the purpose of the meetings is straight forward.

Reeve Wayne Anderson"We are trying to get the same kind of service here as everybody else in the province has. It's just that our community hospitals happen to be on the other side of the line. But I don't think it's any more costly than any other place in Manitoba; it's just a matter of getting all the small things worked out."

The meetings have been set for Monday, March 11th at 6:30 p.m. at the Piney Community Centre and Thursday, March 14th at 6:30 p.m. at the Sprague Community Hall. Representatives from Manitoba Health will be there along with government representatives in the event any of the questions are political. Anderson asks people to submit questions to the RM in advance, in writing.

"We'll put them in a list and send them to the Health Department and make sure that they research it properly before they come out so they can give us all the answers instead of saying that they'll get back to us or something like that."

Anderson is hoping that these meetings will clear the air once and for all.