Are medical tests, medicines, consultations all covered by the Health Policy or we have to bear part of it?
Yes, Consultations and labwork costs are covered. Medicines are not covered. Your monthly/annual medical cost depends on which province you live in and whether you have work/private insurance or not.
if you have Private Insurance the Provincial health Departments will charge them first for your medications. Sometimes you may have to pay a small co-pay charged by insurance providers eg $0-$100 per monthly refill or per 3-month refills based on which plan you/your company is on. This co-pay may be / sometimes paid off with the drug manufacturer's discount cards or with help of some provincial high co-pay help programs.
if you don't have private insurance your charges vary depending on which province you live.
Charges for someone with no private insurance
No Charge ----- Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nunavut, North West Territories
Annual Charges per Pharma Year( 1st Apr - 30th March) ---- Quebec -- $1046 ,New Brunswick --- $250, Yukon --- $250, Nova Scotia --- $120
Household Income % based Charges --- Ontario -- 4% of your household income under the Trillium Drug Program, Manitoba -- 2.97-6.73% of the combined family income
Are there long waiting lines for medication, tests, etc?
No...If you live in a big city it is not going to be tough for you to find an HIV care clinic for tests.if you live in a remote town you may need to travel few hours to the nearest city for your appointments. Medication delivery times again depends on the province and city you live. it shouldn't be a long wait even if you live in remote places.
What are the pros and cons of HIV positive patients immigrating to Canada through Express entry?
Pro - except ON, MB, QC most states have excellent medication help programs.
Cons -
* If you don't have private insurance or you lose your job you may have to pay a few hundred to thousand dollars for medication costs.
* Qualified doctors may not be available in small towns and remote provinces
* They have very strict criminality laws. so you should let your sexual partner know that you are +ve even if you are using protection or undetectable which may be a problem in your dating life.