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Last month, Jeff Epp drove to Calgary and back to Regina in one day so his daughter, Delaney, could have an MRI.

But on Tuesday, the Reginan was wishing he’d waited.

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Saskatchewan patients can now choose to directly pay for a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI).

Currently, Mayfair Diagnostics and Open Skies MRI Diagnostics in Regina are the only licensed private-pay facilities in the province.

According to legislation that came into force on Monday, facilities that perform a private MRI scan must also provide a second scan at no charge to an individual on the public waiting list.

That could have been Delaney, who injured her right knee while playing her first high school basketball game with the Campbell Tartans junior girls.

Despite making progress in physiotherapy, when the 14-year-old took part in a practice her knee gave out, and her orthopedic surgeon said she’d need an MRI.

In early February, Delaney was looking at a 10-month wait for the scan, so the family drove to Mayfair’s Calgary facility and paid $770. The scan showed an ACL tear. Now she’ll see her surgeon Thursday.