BC MSP coverage retro actively cancelled

[nado300]

Hi,I've been put in a pretty bad situation...I was a PR in canada since 2008. I used to travel back and forth between home country and BC. Couldnt make the move due to my husband's family obligation. Anyway, during that time I gave birth to a child. My PR expired last year and I failed to complete the RO so I decided not to pursue renewing my PR. I currently do not live in canada. at the month of my PR expiry, I was sent a letter by mail from an "eligibility investigator" to the address i had once lived in. Luckily (or should I say unluckily) the person who lives there managed to tell me and i emailed the investigator telling him that i do not live in canada anymore and that my PR had expired. HE then replied that I may be eligible for a PR extension,and for that he needed copies of passport and some details concerning residency. I did that. and upon submission and after long emails, he replied back that - MSP coverage u is to be retro-actively cancelled
-MSP coverage for dependant is to be cancelled from date of birth as they were born to a non-resident.he also said that it would take 3-6 months to make a final commendation for the amount due.
Didnt hear from anyone since then, and a year later (now) I hear from the ppl who live where i used to live that there is an invoice left for me owing to a large lump sum. they couldnt scan or send me a copy of the letter as we are not in good terms at all. they say it was sent in july.
What do I do? What happens if i fail to pay on the date due (which i dont know when)? is there any way to ask them to make the payments in fragments as i will not be able to make the full payment at once.I do not live in the mailing address that they i have, which the investigator kjnows. what happens if i visit canada anytime soon without having made the full payment? could I be arrested? could my kids be hurt in any way?
thanks

 

[steaky]

Why don't you contact the collecting agency directly? Write or call them.

 

[Leon]

In order to be eligible for MSP, you must make your home in BC at least 6 months a year. Did you stay 6 months in the first year after you got your PR? If not, they can retroactively cancel it. After you moved away from BC, you should have told MSP that you are leaving and they would have cancelled your coverage. Heath care in Canada is provided to residents only, not to visitors.

The eligibility officer was surely not from immigration and talking about your PR card, I suspect they were from MSP and were investigating health care fraud. If they were to go after you for fraud, it is a criminal offense. If they are just backcharging you for what they covered on your behalf, it is not a criminal case, just a debt. However, if you don't pay the debt, they could decide to file fraud charges.

If you want to know what MSP is thinking, you can contact them with your email and ask them to send you the letter instead of sending it to some old address in BC where you obviously don't live any more.

If you question their decision or their right to retroactively cancel your health care, you could ask the BC ombudsman for help: https://www.ombudsman.bc.ca/ or a lawyer.

 

[nado300]

thanks for both replies.
The invoice came directly from the hospital in which i gave birth at and had quiet a stay due to some problems that happened to me after giving birth.
We first landed in Toronto where we had our longest stay-7 months. After moving to BC it was when we had to cut our stay and make it in shorter intervals. 6 months in a year to be eligible for MSP? didnt know that! we werent told that in toronto! :$
I am planning to pay the money, but I actually wont be able to make it all at once. So do I contact the hospital itself and ask them to make the payments every couple of months or do I contact MSP instead. It was not my intention for all of this to happen!Alas it was my mistake for not having professional opinion upon moving to BC...
Thanks again

 

[Leon]

thanks for both replies.
The invoice came directly from the hospital in which i gave birth at and had quiet a stay due to some problems that happened to me after giving birth.
We first landed in Toronto where we had our longest stay-7 months. After moving to BC it was when we had to cut our stay and make it in shorter intervals. 6 months in a year to be eligible for MSP? didnt know that! we werent told that in toronto! :$
I am planning to pay the money, but I actually wont be able to make it all at once. So do I contact the hospital itself and ask them to make the payments every couple of months or do I contact MSP instead. It was not my intention for all of this to happen!Alas it was my mistake for not having professional opinion upon moving to BC...
Thanks again

Ontario actually has similar rules. In Ontario, you must stay 5 months a year to keep your health care and in the first 6 months after you move, you must stay at least 5. I think this must be on the forms you fill out when you apply for health care but maybe in the small print.

Did you give birth in the first 3 months after moving to BC? If you did, you may still have been covered under OHIP which would have been ok because you did stay there for the amount needed to be eligible and stay eligible for up to 3 months after moving to another province.

In your situation, I would contact the ombudsman and ask if they are entitled to cancel your health care retroactively in your case. Also check if you might still have been covered under OHIP when you had your expenses. If the Ombudsman agrees to help you, they may tell you what you do next or they may write some letters to MSP themselves and you can wait a while and see what happens. If you were still under OHIP, you should contact OHIP and MSP and explain that. However, if you were under MSP and the ombudsman says they have the right to cancel retroactively, you should contact the hospital about the bill. I assume MSP has asked the hospital to refund them what they paid for you and therefore the hospital is asking the money from you and MSP isn't.