The Saskatchewan government is preparing to stop subsidizing chiropractic services, the Opposition New Democrats say.

NDP MLA Judy Junor said the ruling Saskatchewan Party government signed a new funding deal earlier this year with the provincial Chiropractors' Association, but the association was later told the deal was off.

Health Minister Don McMorris says the government is looking at the $12-a-visit subsidy it pays chiropractors, but the result won't be announced until the budget is released on March 24.

If the subsidy was eliminated, it would save the government about $10 million a year, he said.

Junor said that although McMorris isn't confirming anything, she's convinced the cut is coming. She predicts it will be bad news for patients and will ultimately cause health-care budgets to rise.

Cost diverted?

Cutting back on chiropractic treatments will simply spark a rise in other services covered by the government, she said.

Chiropractic care often involves therapy through the manipulation of the spine and other joints.

"A lot of people live in pain and chronic pain, that have to see chiropractors. So they don't go to emergency, they don't go to their doctors, they don't go to specialists," Junor said Tuesday. "There will be an increase in all of those."

McMorris said if the subsidy is eliminated, he expects people will simply pay the full amount themselves.

"Many would say, you know, for the benefit they get, for an extra $12, they would do that, as opposed to the alternatives," he said.

If Saskatchewan eliminates the subsidy for chiropractic services, it will have lots of company across Canada, McMorris said. Nine provinces and territories provide no coverage for chiropractic services, he said.