[ your name ] [ the date ]
[ your address and email ]
[ name of MLA ]
[ MLA address and email address ]
CC: Hon Josie Osborne, Minister of Health
Premier David Eby
Dear [ Mr./Mrs./Ms./Mx your MLAs full name ], MLA
Re: Urgent Action Needed to Preserve Access to Care for Thousands with Complex Chronic Diseases
I’m writing as a member of LifeLineBC, a grassroots community of patients, caregivers, and allies advocating for sustainable, accessible care for British Columbians living with complex chronic diseases like ME/CFS, Long COVID, and Fibromyalgia, illnesses that now affect hundreds of thousands across our province.
As of September 1, 2025, MSP plans to limit billing for virtual group medical visits to just 20 patients per hour. This policy change will dismantle the current model used by clinics like changepain and the BC Centre for Long COVID, ME/CFS, and Fibromyalgia (which presently serves over 5,000 patients). Without intervention, the majority of services will become financially unsustainable and be forced to shut down.
[Insert your personal experience here — when you became sick, how long you waited, what the clinic has done for you, and how losing it would affect you, or simply delete this section and the title.]
Wait times will soar, as clinics lose the ability to serve dozens of patients simultaneously
ER visits and hospitalizations will rise, increasing pressure on the healthcare system
Access will vanish for housebound, disabled, or rural patients who cannot attend in-person care
Quality will suffer, as patients are funneled into rushed 1:1 appointments with providers unfamiliar with these conditions
Here is how the model works today:
GPs refer patients with complex chronic diseases
Patients are assessed by an internist via Zoom
Ongoing care happens through large group visits (40–60 participants), supported by over 30 symptom-management workshops and a YouTube lecture library
This model:
Saves time and money by reducing 1:1 consultations
Frees up ERs, GPs, and specialist referrals
Enables accessible, non-invasive care for patients too unwell to travel
Supports long-term management through education and peer support
Costs a fraction of conventional chronic care pathways
While BC also funds the Post-COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network, it is not a meaningful alternative since it is only available for those with a post covid diagnosis. Patients with ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, or other complex chronic diseases are not eligible to apply. Furthermore, this network only offers high level patient care for the duration of 12 months after which, regardless of improvement, or lack thereof, they are automatically discharged. They are often referred to these virtual clinics for continuation of care.
The Complex Chronic Diseases Program (CCDP) is not a viable alternative either. It has a years-long waitlist, requires in person treatment, and limits care to 12 months regardless of patient improvement. Upon discharge, many patients are referred to these virtual clinics for continuation of care.
Both of these programs also simply do not have the CAPACITY to tend to this large patient population that is growing, nor can they absorb the virtual clinic patients if these models collapse. This is not a situation where patients can simply “go elsewhere.” ERs, family doctors, and most specialists do not have the training or tools to safely treat these conditions. Many patients are homebound. Without the virtual, specialist-led group care the BC-CLMF offers, we simply do not have access to health care.
We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking your government to take swift action to ensure uninterrupted care for this population. That means finding a viable solution, whether through MSP, alternate funding, or a targeted policy exemption- to allow this proven model to continue serving the patients who rely on it.
I would be happy to speak further, provide supporting data, or facilitate direct contact with the clinic’s specialists at your convenience.
Thank you for your time and for standing up for equitable care in British Columbia.
Kind regards,
[ type name ]
Digitally signed
CC Hon Josie Osborne, Minister of Health
Premier David Eby
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