PREGNANCY during INLAND spouse sponsorship process

[screech339]

i was first told by OHIP that one can get ohip if they are employed FT.
So basically my husband has been here for over a year, he has finally started working a few months ago. We live here we spend our money in canada and he will not qualify for Ohip until AIP (which is taking approx 16 months) this is a f$%^ing joke. We as canadians want to bring our partners here a legit way live in canada,work,spend money and we have to wait.
Where others come in with an whole army behind them and get everything for free.

You can take the complaint to Ontario Service and ask them to change the rules of OHIP qualifications since it is their jurisdictions. Tell them to follow Alberta's example. Applicants of Canadians / PR can qualify for health coverage from day one.

Remember that OWP pilot program was introduced due to inland applicants complaints of not being able to work to contribute towards family income. Not to get on provincial health care before AIP.

 

[GG_wife]

You can take the complaint to Ontario Service and ask them to change the rules of OHIP qualifications since it is their jurisdictions. Tell them to follow Alberta's example. Applicants of Canadians / PR can qualify for health coverage from day one.

Remember that OWP pilot program was introduced due to inland applicants complaints of not being able to work to contribute towards family income. Not to get on provincial health care before AIP.

Well I do not think most people wish to abuse the system so if someone has a fulltime job and a canadian spouse/ commonlaw partner that should be enoough guarantee. Spouses are planning for long term and willing to pay into healthcare before taking anything out. So what you say could be easily adressed to issue OHIP those who hold fulltime jobs.

 

[GG_wife]

+1 for this. Get a midwife. They are in very high demand so hopefully you get one. My wife and I and many of our friends, even though we all have OHIP we all elected to use a midwife due to the greater personal care they provide during pregnancy, delivery, and follow-up care afterwards.

Will be a fraction of the cost vs using doctors if paying out of pocket.

Thanks for the note I agree midwives are the best option. For me it didn't work though b/c they were full already even though i called them before i was two weeks pregnant. Now the only care I get is walk in clinics.

 

[Mimir]

GG_wife (and other happy future moms who need it), you can use the Travel Guard's "SILVER VISITORS TO CANADA" plan - it covers pregnancy related emergencies, but ONLY up to the 31st week of pregnancy period. I used this plan for my wife (150,000 CAD coverage) until we didn't get OHIP. You can purchase it before or after you get pregnant.

Quote:
"Travel Guard Canada has a special offer for pregnant Visitors to Canada such as pregnancy insurance supplement covering the following pregnancy related emergencies ONLY up to the 31st week of pregnancy period:

– Abdominal Pain
– Premature Birth
– Various Bleedings
– Miscarriage

Please note that routine prenatal care and delivery are not included in the insurance coverage provided by Travel Guard.'

 

[scylla]

GG_wife (and other happy future moms who need it), you can use the Travel Guard's "SILVER VISITORS TO CANADA" plan - it covers pregnancy related emergencies, but ONLY up to the 31st week of pregnancy period. I used this plan for my wife (150,000 CAD coverage) until we didn't get OHIP. You can purchase it before or after you get pregnant.

Quote:
"Travel Guard Canada has a special offer for pregnant Visitors to Canada such as pregnancy insurance supplement covering the following pregnancy related emergencies ONLY up to the 31st week of pregnancy period:

– Abdominal Pain
– Premature Birth
– Various Bleedings
– Miscarriage

Please note that routine prenatal care and delivery are not included in the insurance coverage provided by Travel Guard.'

Not sure I would trust someone who just joined the forum and this is their first post. They probably represent the company selling the insurance and are therefore biased. Buyer beware. Read the fine print in great detail before purchasing or signing.

 

[Mimir]

Not sure I would trust someone who just joined the forum and this is their first post. They probably represent the company selling the insurance and are therefore biased. Buyer beware. Read the fine print in great detail before purchasing or signing.

I understand your concern, but I am certainly not a sales guy or a troll. I know how important was to my wife and me to find the insurance that covers the potential pregnancy issues, and finding one was not an easy task. The small print in the insurance brochure actually revealed that they cover the pregnancy emergency situations. then we called the agency and confirmed the information with the agent. I visit occasionally this forum, and the only reason I made a profile is to share this information, because I think it could be important and valuable to many couples while they wait for their applications to be processed.
Strangely, the moment I posted the first post I thought "some smart**s is going to question its validity" :
Anyways, I shared the info and I think its helpful; Google is free and anyone can use it the way he/she wants.

 

[scylla]

Strangely, the moment I posted the first post I thought "some smart**s is going to question its validity" :

The reason why you immediately thought this is because your behaviour is typical spammer behaviour. So you'll appreciate why we would be cautious. It's got nothing to do with me being a smar**s. I'm just pointing out the obvious conclusion a normal person would draw. (We see spammers here all of the time - and recommending insurance plans is one thing they will often do.) Agreed people can research the plan you are recommending on their own to confirm it's a match for their needs.

 

[Mimir]

Again, Scylla, I understand your cautiousness, but I have experienced how difficult it can be to find a pregnancy insurance here and just trying to share a valuable information.
@ GG_wife:
Service Canada has nothing to do with your health card, that is the provincial jurisdiction (in Ontario you should go to ServiceOntario), but i think you have figured that out by now.
Even though you don't have OHIP, you can get a family doctor, and I would recommend you to find one (you can find the doctor reviews online - the websites like ratemds.com - and look for several with strong recommendations; then schedule the appointment and hopefully one of them will accept you as a new patient). It is very important that your pregnancy is being fallowed and monitored by a professional - that way you will know what tests to do at a certain week of pregnancy, and your results will be sent to your family doctor who will interpret them, inform you, keep them in your file and advise you about your pregnancy.
I don't have any experience with midwifes, but I know if you want one you have to book her well before the pregnancy, because the demand is high.
As for the pregnancy insurance related problems, the main ones i have encountered while searching for one are:
not many insurance companies offer pregnancy insurance in Canada (at least the ones I called)
the insurance company wants you to buy the pregnancy insurance before the actual pregnancy, which is incredibly stupid in my opinion: basically, they want you to give them the money first and then to hope for the best
It was impossible to find the plan that covers the whole pregnancy, but I might be wrong; the best I find was the one I stated in the above post, ind it covers the pregnancy related issues up to the 7th month of pregnancy.
Manulife Insurance as well offers the plan that includes the pregnancy coverage, but when I called them to inquire about the plan, the agent told me the coverage is just for some "serious problems during pregnancy", and he basically sounded like he didn't want to sell me the insurance plan. Perhaps he was inexperienced or not well informed about his company's plan, so it might be worth calling them and ask for the precise information about the plan.

And don't forget to eat food rich in Ca, folate or folic acid, and other vitamins and minerales ;D

 

[canuck_in_uk]

the insurance company wants you to buy the pregnancy insurance before the actual pregnancy, which is incredibly stupid in my opinion: basically, they want you to give them the money first and then to hope for the best

Stupid in your opinion but basic business sense. Pregnancy would be looked at like any other pre-existing condition such as heart problems, diabetes etc. If the condition is stable, meaning it isn't going to cost any money during the coverage period, that's fine; if it isn't stable and the insurance company knows that they would have to pay out, they won't give coverage. Pregnancy is most definitely NOT a stable condition.

 

[screech339]

the insurance company wants you to buy the pregnancy insurance before the actual pregnancy, which is incredibly stupid in my opinion: basically, they want you to give them the money first and then to hope for the best

Mimir,

As canuck said, the purpose of insurance is to cover unforetold circumstances. So you are saying that it is stupid to buy car insurance because the accident hasn't happened yet. What you are saying is to buy insurance after the car accident. No insurance company is going to buy into that. Same said for insurance for pregnancy. You need to buy it before you get pregnant, not after. Once you become pregnant, it becomes a pre-existing medical condition. This is why most insurance companies that do offer pregnant related issues won't cover any pregnant related expenses within the first 9 months of policy. Insurance companies need to make a profit, not lose money. If they allowed themselves to cover pre-existing conditions like pregnancy, a lot of insurance companies would go bankrupt.

 

[Mimir]

canuck_in_uk and screech339

Please read my first post about the pregnancy insurance CAREFULLY before posting the hasty comments: I was able to find and purchase the insurance for my wife that covers the potential pregnancy issues in Canada AFTER the pregnancy occurred (or, using the same clumsy comparison - AFTER the car crash), and recommended it here, because I know how hard it is to find the proper information. Pregnancy issues are covered up with this plan to the 31st week of pregnancy (so by the end of the 7th month), and the plan can be purchased after the pregnancy has started.

 

[GG_wife]

The reason why you immediately thought this is because your behaviour is typical spammer behaviour. So you'll appreciate why we would be cautious. It's got nothing to do with me being a smar**s. I'm just pointing out the obvious conclusion a normal person would draw. (We see spammers here all of the time - and recommending insurance plans is one thing they will often do.) Agreed people can research the plan you are recommending on their own to confirm it's a match for their needs.

good thinking and thanks for to be on the lookout! we all do need discernment in these things.

 

[GG_wife]

Again, Scylla, I understand your cautiousness, but I have experienced how difficult it can be to find a pregnancy insurance here and just trying to share a valuable information.
@ GG_wife:
Service Canada has nothing to do with your health card, that is the provincial jurisdiction (in Ontario you should go to ServiceOntario), but i think you have figured that out by now.
Even though you don't have OHIP, you can get a family doctor, and I would recommend you to find one (you can find the doctor reviews online - the websites like ratemds.com - and look for several with strong recommendations; then schedule the appointment and hopefully one of them will accept you as a new patient). It is very important that your pregnancy is being fallowed and monitored by a professional - that way you will know what tests to do at a certain week of pregnancy, and your results will be sent to your family doctor who will interpret them, inform you, keep them in your file and advise you about your pregnancy.
I don't have any experience with midwifes, but I know if you want one you have to book her well before the pregnancy, because the demand is high.
As for the pregnancy insurance related problems, the main ones i have encountered while searching for one are:
not many insurance companies offer pregnancy insurance in Canada (at least the ones I called)
the insurance company wants you to buy the pregnancy insurance before the actual pregnancy, which is incredibly stupid in my opinion: basically, they want you to give them the money first and then to hope for the best
It was impossible to find the plan that covers the whole pregnancy, but I might be wrong; the best I find was the one I stated in the above post, ind it covers the pregnancy related issues up to the 7th month of pregnancy.
Manulife Insurance as well offers the plan that includes the pregnancy coverage, but when I called them to inquire about the plan, the agent told me the coverage is just for some "serious problems during pregnancy", and he basically sounded like he didn't want to sell me the insurance plan. Perhaps he was inexperienced or not well informed about his company's plan, so it might be worth calling them and ask for the precise information about the plan.

And don't forget to eat food rich in Ca, folate or folic acid, and other vitamins and minerales ;D

thanks for bringing up the insurance topic. I am planning to do a FAQ on pregnancy during inland application processing (inspired by and following the footsteps of our all star mentor here: Sophieee ) and I will include definitely info about pregnancy insurance. I have looked into this option as well when I was doing my research.

Now let's get to my personal experience why I am not a fan of this type of insurance.

#1 it is for emergency care, it will not lessen the costs of medical consultation, ultrasound scan, bloodwork what I need on a more regular basis. Rather it would add an additional cost on the top of everything
#2 insurance companies are infamous for not liking to depart from their money. I have seen this before, when the reimbursement has been a long dragging process
#3 It does not cover the major expense which is the delivery. A day in a hospital with the delivery costs 4000-5000 CAD.

 

[Mimir]

#1 it is for emergency care, it will not lessen the costs of medical consultation, ultrasound scan, bloodwork what I need on a more regular basis. Rather it would add an additional cost on the top of everything
#2 insurance companies are infamous for not liking to depart from their money. I have seen this before, when the reimbursement has been a long dragging process
#3 It does not cover the major expense which is the delivery. A day in a hospital with the delivery costs 4000-5000 CAD.

You are right about all three points, but I think no insurance company will cover the regular scans, test etc because... well they are regular and they have to be done. I personally hate dealing with insurance companies (every year when I have to renew my car/home insurance I have several very intense and unpleasant phone calls with the insurance agents (unpleasant for them, mostly , but one way or another, it's a waste of good nerves). I read that the hospital with the delivery costs + some other things, like caesarian, can go up to a several tens of thousands, but as I said earlier, I wasn't able to find the plan that would cover the whole pregnancy. The best one I found and used I have posted here, and think it is much better to have some coverage than none.

 

[screech339]

canuck_in_uk and screech339

Please read my first post about the pregnancy insurance CAREFULLY before posting the hasty comments: I was able to find and purchase the insurance for my wife that covers the potential pregnancy issues in Canada AFTER the pregnancy occurred (or, using the same clumsy comparison - AFTER the car crash), and recommended it here, because I know how hard it is to find the proper information. Pregnancy issues are covered up with this plan to the 31st week of pregnancy (so by the end of the 7th month), and the plan can be purchased after the pregnancy has started.

Im happy you were able to find an insurance company that allow you to purchase pregnant related issues for the first 31 months. The thing is what kind of expenses are really going to be covered during the 31 weeks. If you think about it, what is really going to happen during the 31 weeks of pregnancy. Not much at all just routine checkup and nothing more. Will it actually cover the expensive ultrasound? I think that would be the only expensive medical cost if it is actually covered. If they do cover it, it will be a one time coverage. The risk of the first 31 weeks of pregnancy is quite minimal. It is the last trimester that matters most. Premature birth, risk of pre-eclampsia, risk of C-Section. This is the part where expensive medical cost comes into play. No offense, what's the point of buying the plan if it wont even cover the actual pregnancy complications.