ruby_01

I wonder can anyone help me with this query? I am going back to live in Canada with my 2 kids (both Canadian citizens) and my British husband. We are currently filling in the forms for my sponsorship of him. I know that part of the protocol is that he gets a medical examination. My husband has had a couple of operations on his spine and has nerve damage in his back which requires medication (morphine, arthrotec etc). He can no longer work in the job he was trained for and stays at home to look after our 2 young children. He will, in time, however get a job that doesn't require any manual labour. First of all, will the Canadian government look unfavourably on this situation? We would be going over with enough money and will be able to buy a house outright, leaving us with no mortgage and I have the skills to get a well-paid job.

I am worried though about my husband not being able to get the medication he needs. I realise we will have to pay for it, that's not a problem, as long as he gets it. He couldn't bear the pain otherwise.

Does anyone know about prescriptions for people who have recently immigrated to canada? What if he's still waiting for his approval to stay in the country??

MarkG

If you're sponsoring him, then he's excessive demand exempt; he can only be turned down on medical grounds if he has a condition that's a threat to public health in Canada (e.g. a serious infectious disease), not just because he needs costly treatment.

As for healthcare, it depends entirely on the province. Saskatchewan covers you from the day you land, some other provinces don't for three months after landing.

Edit: note that you probably will have to pay the full cost for prescriptions, though. They generally don't seem to be covered under provincial healthcare.

ruby_01

Thanks Mark. It's actually Ontario I'm going to. I know there is OHIP but it's been awhile since I've lived there so I'm not sure who and what it covers anymore. I do know that I should try and get a job that offers some type of prescription cover. So my Canadian friends say.

Judy in Calgary

If you're going to Ontario, all 4 of your will be eligible for OHIP only after 3 months. The Wiki article called Medical Insurance has names of companies from which you can buy interim medical insurance if you wish.
x

Elaine B.

Remember OHIP doesn't cover Dental or Opticians and as you probably already know there are no free prescriptions for kids. I'm sure there are quiet a few other things but those are the first that come to mind.

Sunshine Girl

Hi, I'm not a regular poster on this forum, as we're trying to get back to the U.K. after 5 years in Canada. What I will say is look at the pain prescriptions your OH is on. My current pain medication costs $1,480 every quarter.
No problem getting the drugs, if you bring your medial records with you....but paying for some of them...well
If you let me know what your hubbie's on I'll ask my pharmacist the actual costs for you. Hope thats helps a little.
Hugs

ruby_01

Thank you everyone for the advice. Hugs, why are you not happy in Canada?

By the way, my husband is on Fentanyl Duragesic patches, Arthrotec, Citalopram and Co-codamol. That'll be expensive, eh?

destinationnovascotia

Very. Depending on the strength, duragesic patches could be anything from $20 to $50 each, Artrotec $50 to $80 per pack (depending on strength) The list goes on...


I don't know about the healthcare you would get with your job. Would they cover drugs for pre-existing conditions?

smurtaza

Is it same like NHS and Medicare Australia?Quality of treatment etc.?

Elaine B.

No they still use leeches and witch doctors in Canada

MarkG

My girlfriend's seems to, but there's a limit as to how much she can claim every year so you might run out fast; I was never asked about medical history for mine.

sas-lou

We are going down the family class route. Me and children had our med's mid Feb. I have had sciatica since December, when we saw the doc, i had 2 morphine patches on. I asked my doctors for a copy of my medical notes and took them to our med's. Doc didnt seem to worried, he expected me to get over the back problem in time. He did say though that it was good that i hadnt had an MRI scan, the canadian embassy medical people he told me, dont like seeing that word, obviously due to the cost.
I gave them all the details and they now have my notes, so hopefully its going to be good news.
I have come off the patches now, but doc has put me on dihydrocodeine and amitriptlyne. I wont have the cortisone injection, i dont want it to look any worse than it already is.

Good luck, be positive and hope for the best.
Thats what im doing

Biiiiink

You know that spouses are "excessive demand exempt"? Meaning it doesn't matter a hoot if the DMP thinks your sciatica might be costly to treat

I appreciate the cost of meds in Canada is a whole other issue, just wanted to point out that you needn't worry about passing the medical because of your back.

ruby_01

I'm glad to hear that because my husband has had a few MRI scans. It's not a life threatening illness or anything but there's no doubt that it's lifelong.

MB-Realtor

You can claim a tax credit for a some medical expenses. So you would get some money back, provided you are paying tax.