DAN PUCHER

MEDICAL INSURANCE PROTECTION

FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS

The Canadian provincial public health care systems are not always available to temporary and permanent residents. Travellers sometimes believe that the health care plans from their countries of origin will protect them, only to be shocked that it does not cover all treatments, costs, duration of stay, or is not available at all.

Even young and healthy persons can require emergency care for accidents and other unexpected health issues. The costs can be ruinous, with a weeklong hospital stay costing tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada ("CIC") takes a great interest in whether foreign nationals have private medical insurance. The CIC wants neither financially ruined foreign nationals in Canada nor to have the Canadian taxpayer foot the otherwise unpaid bill.

Temporary Residents - Visitors, Students, Workers

Provincial health care systems do not allow all temporary residents to enrol, so you should investigate. This article will consider British Columbia's public medical insurance, to serve as an example.

The BC Medicare Protection Act [RSBC 1996] ch 286, s.7 (2) states that the public medical insurer, Medical Services Plan ("MSP"), "must… enroll as beneficiaries those … who are residents."

The Act's definition of "resident" is a person who

(b) makes his or her home in British Columbia, and

(c) is physically present in British Columbia at least 6 months in a calendar year,

and includes a person who is deemed under the regulations to be a resident but does not include a tourist or visitor to British Columbia.

The Medical and Health Care Services Regulations s.2 deems as a resident any foreign national who meets the criteria under paragraphs (b) and (c) of the definition above and who has a valid

• work permit;
• study permit; or,
• visitor status and who "is a spouse or child of a resident if the person has applied for permanent resident status and as long as the application remains active."

Bridge Private Insurance

The Act s.7 (2) also states that enrolment in public medical insurance be "effective not more than 3 months after receipt of the application."

Therefore, if a permanent or temporary resident were eligible to enrol in public medical insurance, that person would need private medical insurance to bridge the 2-3 month gap until the public medical insurance coverage starts.

The foregoing is crucial to knowing when you should provide evidence of your private medical coverage for immigration purposes.

Whether your application for temporary residence is made at a visa office or the Port of Entry, you may need to prove that you have private medical insurance. Visitors and students in particular must demonstrate that they have enough funds available for their stay, and private medical insurance is a related consideration, particularly if there are any pre-existing health issues or they are older.

Denial of Coverage and Inadequate Coverage

Public medical insurance plans do not cover all treatments, prescriptions, and care. Closely examine what your province will cover and look for "extended medical" private insurance that will provide better coverage.

Further, your legal eligibility to enrol in the public medical insurance plan does not ensure that you will be enrolled. Immigration lawyers are all too familiar with foreign nationals incorrectly being denied coverage. The unfortunate truth is that you may have a fight on your hands and you may still lose. Be prepared that you will need to continue your private medical insurance.

You should not rely only on the general advice on the provincial health care program websites or this article. This is a short overview and many exceptions to the foregoing information exist. You should seek advice based on your unique set of facts from legal and insurance professionals.

© 2009 Marina Lee Sedai. All rights reserved. This article protected by Canadian and international copyright laws. Quoting or paraphrasing this article requires complete citation. Permission granted to Dan Pucher Insurance to wholly reproduce this article.