Botwood native Kevin Carter is still lobbying in the hopes of getting MCP to cover surgery he needs - and according to his doctors, he says - is essential.
And he's sticking with those efforts, despite what he said is a broken promise by Premier Kathy Dunderdale.
The issue in question is the more than 13 pounds of excess skin around his upper body.
Carter was once a morbidly obese man who decided he would change his life before his excess weight killed him. With diet and exercise, Carter dropped more than 200 pounds.
However, that came with a price: dead skin on his body is causing discomfort, pain and regular infections. The skin, he said, will rot, change and break down.
He thinks his condition is enough to warrant surgical removal of the skin at MCP's expense.
The premier had said publicly that government's policy would be reviewed, and that the operation would be covered if a doctor said it was necessary. Carter said that two doctors he had seen did deem it medically necessary - his family physician and a plastic surgeon in St. John's. However, government has once again declined his situation.
"I have no idea what my next step is," said Carter. "The province did give me a bunch of statistics relating my situation to other provinces and the United States and they said it's mainly cosmetic."
But it's not cosmetic, he added. The rotting skin is continuing to cause him problems, he added.
Carter contacted Provincial Health Minister Susan Sullivan three times between December and January, and he said the last response from her was the same: the premier has not broken any promise.
"We did that review," said the minister. "The premier has not broken any promise. She indicated that a review of the policy on excess skin removal would be conducted and that it would be applied consistently and appropriately."
Sullivan added that it would be covered if a surgeon deemed it medically necessary. She would not comment on Carter's case specifically, as a piece of legislation prohibits her from doing so.
However, Opposition members from the other two parties were very vocal in their denigration of government's response.
Lorraine Michael of the NDP stated in a press release while it was true that thousands of people heard her make this commitment on the radio, she should not assume that officials at the Department of Health were among them and immediately brought notice to the decision makers at MCP.
"There has obviously been yet another breakdown in communication, and people in this province are suffering because of it," Michael stated.
She said that another stage of the review will be conducted.
In the meantime, Carter said, "every infection that I get will be documented at my doctor's office."
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