Nok Tok

Hi!

I am almost 12 weeks pregnant and starting to get a bit worried about prenatal care.

My husband has been offered a contract in Montreal which will not include health cover. Initially I was not worried, as I have read that after three months of being resdient in the country and provided my husband is paying tax, you can access medicare which would be more than enough time to cover me for the birth. I had figured that we would take out private health insurance for the interim period.

However, I have read that private health insurance companies will not cover me as I am already preganant and even the medicare scheme may not include some aspects of my prenatal care.

I have also read that you have to be a permenant resident to access medicare which will not be the case for myself and my husband.

Can anyone advise on the criteria for accessing medicare, what it covers and also if I can't access it and private health insurance doesn't cover the cost of prenatal care and the delivery of the baby, what other options I have? I really don't want to have to come back to the UK to have my baby and am very nervous about the costs of paying for medical care without cover.

I have read that the baby wil be covered by medicare when born but what about my 18 month old son?

We will still get private health cover initially though to cover us all for unforseen medical needs so any advice as to good insurance companies would also be appreciated.

Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received as these questions are beginning to keep me awake at night!

JonboyE

You are eligible for Quebec health care if you are a temporary foreign worker (or family thereof). There is a three month waiting period so you should apply as soon as you get there.

From Outside Canada

Generally speaking, if you arrive in Québec from outside Canada, even if you are a Canadian citizen, you will be eligible for the Québec Health Insurance Plan after a waiting period of up to three months following your registration.

Please note

It is very important to call the Régie or visit an office of the Régie upon your arrival in Québec, to obtain a registration form and submit your application as soon as possible. This will avoid delaying the effective date of your coverage.

The Régie will process your application and, if you fulfill the eligibility requirements, will send you a letter indicating when your coverage under the Health Insurance Plan takes effect. You will receive your Health Insurance Card within two weeks after that date.

Pending receipt of your card, be sure to keep the letter indicating that you are subject to a waiting period, because some healthcare services are available free of charge to persons waiting for their coverage to take effect, such as services:

* needed by victims of conjugal or domestic violence or of sexual assault;
* related to pregnancy, child birth or termination of pregnancy;
* needed by people suffering from infectious diseases that have an impact on public health.


http://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/en/citoye.../ext_can.shtml

JAJ

Depends on the province in Canada, not all of them require you to be permanent resident (as opposed to just legally resident) in order to access provincial healthcare.

Waiting periods and exemptions also vary by province, so look at what it says for Quebec.

Baby will be a Canadian citizen and a waiting period may not apply to newborns, again look at the Quebec details.


The employer usually should provide bridging health cover for the first 3 months, I would have thought.

joycejimi

Hi, I am in exactly the same situation except that I am moving to Vancouver as a PR. I have checked all available websites to see if I can get private medical coverage but it seems pregnancy is defined as a pre-existing condition, hence almost impossible for such coverage. I therefore decided to use a midwife group for the interim till my medical starts in April. Hopefully, everything will go on well without any need to use the main hospital during the three months waiting period. Pre-natal care in the hospital cost a lot and I know I would not be able to afford it, so I approached a couple of midwifery groups in Vancouver and luckily I got a group that accept me for the pre-natal care for the next couple of weeks. Their charges were fairly reasonable. I was told Quebec has exception for pregnant women, so it might worth it checking the government website to find out more. Since you still in the first trimester, you could also look into midwifery services if that will bring cost down.

I hope this helps.

lounan

Hi, we are in montreal on temp work permits and i have had a baby here.
What Jonboye is saying is right. As soon as you land get your healthcards in progress, you will be covered after 3 months.

I had to go to hospital when 10weeks pregnant and as we weren't covered (1 month away) they wouldn't see me unless I paid $600 there and then !!!

I would strongly suggest that your husband gets private cover for all family members from work other wise it will cost you a fortune in the future if you need to go to hospital, or private care...
My husband told his work that he wouldn't come here unless he had insurance though them.

Medicare covers the basic when pregnant doctor appointments, scans and bloods, hospital ward if admitted.

It wont cover extra scans, some bloods for birth defects, semi & private rooms in hospital, and medication if needed, this can be very expensive.

Also when you get here make sure you find a ob/gyn straight away as you will have a good 10 week wait to see one, you will get costs back from medicare after 3 months.
Oh and you will be very lucky to find a midwife that doesnt have a 6 month wait list,they are very hard to come by, I'm not sure where you are coming from ?

Please PM me as I can tell you alot more info

Louise

Nok Tok

Hi there,

Thank you for the advice everyone and evidence of my lack of sleep or maybe just the joys of pregnancy is that I struggle to even spell the word pregnancy! Although I think pregAnant has a certain charm!

Anyway my husband has since found out that the rules are indeed different in Quebec so will definately sleep better tonight!

Does anyone know if there is an NCT (National Childcare Trust) type organisation in Canada? I made a really good network of friends doing this in the UK and the same would be helpful in Montreal.

Thanks again for the advice!

lounan

I attended a free 8 week course with the CLSC like the NCT when my son was from 8 weeks

Also look at www.montrealfamilies.ca lots of prenatal info on ther

Louise