Permanent residence app - Medical Inadmissibility - Insurance query

[arush2015]

Just stumbled upon the medical inadmissibility problem with my PR application.

I am hopeful that I can resolve it as the inadmissibility relates (in my opinion) to a condition I had during my medicals, of which I am not suffering any more, and I expect my doctors to provide the necessary letters of support as evidence. However, I was wondering about private insurance as part of my mitigation plan, and of course any other options/ideas.

Am I right in thinking that there is no such thing as private insurance in Canada? The only private insurance is provincial (in some cases) as far as I can see. Am I correct? Has someone else gone through a similar search and come across any global health insurance options or particular Canadian ones?

My province of choice is Manitoba.

I am planning to call the Manitoba Health Government offices and ask for information Re my situation (there used to be a health bond option with Manitoba but that has been cancelled?).

Any advice will be helpful with regard to insurance. If you have been through such a case by all means get in touch. I am going through the relevant forum posts at the moment and also checking the Medically Inadmissible blog.

Thanks

 

[scylla]

I would avoid making insurance part of your mitigation plan. There are several issues with this:

- Once you are a PR there is nothing stopping you from taking advantage of the provincial health care system even if you said you would pay for your health costs independently. CIC knows this isn't enforceable and for this reason the "I won't use the provincial health care system" argument holds extremely little water.
- As a resident of Canada (rather than a visitor who is only here for a short time), any medical insurance plan available is built on top of the provincial plan. In other words, medical plans for residents of Canada assume you have provincial health care.

Correct - there is no bond.

Your response should instead focus on proving that your medical condition has been resolved and you won't be a burden on the health care system.

 

[arush2015]

I would avoid making insurance part of your mitigation plan. There are several issues with this:
......

Thank you very much Scylla, that's an interesting point I had not thought of.

So, is a mitigation plan essentially something about resolving (if it isn't already resolved) a health issue PRIOR to getting to Canada? Alternatively, it appears to me, that whatever you say in your plan that you will do once IN Canada is effectively your word against theirs.

 

[s2t2]

There are private insurance plans in Canada, completely separate from Provincial.
For example international students are not eligible for the provincial medical insurance and they must get private insurance (usually arranged by the university).

Look for Blue Cross or Great West Life, some of the big Private Medical Insurance companies.

 

[Rob_TO]

There are private insurance plans in Canada, completely separate from Provincial.
For example international students are not eligible for the provincial medical insurance and they must get private insurance (usually arranged by the university).

Look for Blue Cross or Great West Life, some of the big Private Medical Insurance companies.

If the OP has a pre-existing condition, it may be very difficult to find a private insurance provider that will pay for treatments related to his condition. There are many factors such as previous hospital/doctor visits, history of medicine dosages and effectiveness, and probability of requiring future treatment.

Even if he can get private insurance, CIC may not consider that in any case against inadmissibility due to excessive demand. Since of course once one is a PR, they are free to then cancel any private insurance plans in force and rely solely on the provincial health care system.

So, is a mitigation plan essentially something about resolving (if it isn't already resolved) a health issue PRIOR to getting to Canada? Alternatively, it appears to me, that whatever you say in your plan that you will do once IN Canada is effectively your word against theirs.

There are 2 main reasons for being medically inadmissible.
1. Having a contagious condition that could pose a threat to other Canadians. Most common one here is TB. In this case you would have to prove the condition is resolved PRIOR to ever entering Canada.
2. Having a condition that may cause excessive demand on Canada health care. In this case the condition does not need to be resolved before you enter Canada. However you must be able to prove that the condition won't result in a cost to Canada greater than an average Canadian, which is somewhere around $6,400 per year over 5 or 10 years after you become PR. If the condition is not resolved then you must argue the cost of treating the condition will not exceed that amount, assuming you are relying solely on provincial healthcare.