Gap insurance while waiting for OHIP - implications of getting pregnant

[CanadianWife13]

Hello,

I apologize in advance if this topic has been covered before. I did several searches but could not find responses to what I am looking for.

I am a Canadian born citizen married to an American. We have two boys (7 months and 2 years) who have dual citizenship. We have begun the process to sponsor my husband to immigrate to Canada and we are applying outland (from the United States).

We planned on trying to get pregnant early next year and are wondering what our options are. If I am far along and very pregnant by the time my husband receives his PR card we will have to wait the three months to get our OHIP card. What have others done in the interim? Can anyone point me to links on gap insurance coverage? Would it be more expensive if I am pregnant?

Our other option is to have the baby here in the US where we already have health insurance. My family and friends are all in Ontario so I would much rather have our third child in Canada. That said, I know that it might be difficult to find a midwife/OB in Toronto if I am in my third trimester by the time we move.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Leon]

If you move to ON more than 3 months before you give birth, you would have your OHIP card before the birth regardless of your husband who might move later or move with you on visit status while he waits to get his PR card.

If you find yourself in ON without OHIP, there are certain midwives that help people who are uninsured. I have heard of diversity midwives for example.

I do not think you would find any insurance that would cover you for child birth when you are already pregnant. Yeah, they might cover you for the price of the birth, that's pretty much it because if you are already pregnant when you get insured, it's not just a possibility that they'd have to pay for it, it's a certainty.

 

[CanadianWife13]

Thank you. I will look up Diversity Midwives and contact them.

I didn't think that insurance companies would be allowed to deny coverage in Canada if you are pregnant. I'm surprised about that.

If anyone has been pregnant and moved to Ontario prior to OHIP coverage please send me info on your experiences.

Thanks

 

[Leon]

I didn't think that insurance companies would be allowed to deny coverage in Canada if you are pregnant. I'm surprised about that.

Insurance is a business so they look at the risk of having to pay for something and then decide what to charge you.

If somebody has a very bad driving history, for example, they would have a problem getting car insurance or it would be very expensive because the insurance company knows they will be an expensive client.

Same if a pregnant woman comes along and wants to insure herself for child birth, insurance will figure out what will the birth cost, maybe 10,000, maybe less if there are no complications, more if there are so they might sell her the insurance but it would probably cost around 10,000 because that is what they would expect to have to pay out.

 

[mrFoce]

Thank you. I will look up Diversity Midwives and contact them.

I didn't think that insurance companies would be allowed to deny coverage in Canada if you are pregnant. I'm surprised about that.

If anyone has been pregnant and moved to Ontario prior to OHIP coverage please send me info on your experiences.

Thanks

If they won't deny you, why would anyone take insurance for anything? It's a business, if you get a serious illness and don't have insurance, no one is going to give you insurance for existing illnesses. They are not here to make your life more affordable. So if you plan to get pregnant, you could get insurance prior to getting pregnant. But make sure to read the rules as they might not cover pregnancy within 1 year.