Gpower

Hello all,

My wife and I received the immigrant visas and are prepared to land in
the first week of February.

I have been following the discussions on this news group for some time
now. It is very helpful. Many thanks to the consultants and others who
have been taking their time to answer people's questions and to clear
dilemmas. Let me post my time line if it helps anybody and go to my
questions.

My timeline from CHC Nairobi:

October 2001 - Sent Application
November 2001 - AOR
April 2002 - Received request to submit medical results and send
passports for verification
May 2002 - Sent medicals, passports and receipt for payment of
ROLF
September 2002- Received request to send updated proof of funds and
had been told visas would be issued by late 2002 or
early 2003
January 2003 - Received passports with visas and landing papers

Now to my questions:

My wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth around March 20,
2003. We plan to land at Toronto in the first week of February. We
know we will not be covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)for
the first three months. I think it will be very expensive to buy
private health insurance for expectant woman.

1. How much may it cost to give birth in birthing hospitals?
2. What if it is at home but being attended by a registered midwife?
3. What factors need to be taken into account when deciding to use the
services of a registered midwife rather than going to a birthing
hospital other than the cost?
4. How should the payment for the birthing services be effected? I
mean can it be paid in installments or should it be settled at once?
5. I think the newborn baby will be exempted from the waiting period.
Am I correct?
6. Any related information or advise is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Gpower

Jim Humphries

A hospital birth may cost $1600 or so. Perhaps someone here has recent
experience?

--
Jim Humphries, former visa officer
"Gpower" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hello all,
    > My wife and I received the immigrant visas and are prepared to land in
    > the first week of February.
    > I have been following the discussions on this news group for some time
    > now. It is very helpful. Many thanks to the consultants and others who
    > have been taking their time to answer people's questions and to clear
    > dilemmas. Let me post my time line if it helps anybody and go to my
    > questions.
    > My timeline from CHC Nairobi:
    > October 2001 - Sent Application
    > November 2001 - AOR
    > April 2002 - Received request to submit medical results and send
    > passports for verification
    > May 2002 - Sent medicals, passports and receipt for payment of
    > ROLF
    > September 2002- Received request to send updated proof of funds and
    > had been told visas would be issued by late 2002 or
    > early 2003
    > January 2003 - Received passports with visas and landing papers
    > Now to my questions:
    > My wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth around March 20,
    > 2003. We plan to land at Toronto in the first week of February. We
    > know we will not be covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)for
    > the first three months. I think it will be very expensive to buy
    > private health insurance for expectant woman.
    > 1. How much may it cost to give birth in birthing hospitals?
    > 2. What if it is at home but being attended by a registered midwife?
    > 3. What factors need to be taken into account when deciding to use the
    > services of a registered midwife rather than going to a birthing
    > hospital other than the cost?
    > 4. How should the payment for the birthing services be effected? I
    > mean can it be paid in installments or should it be settled at once?
    > 5. I think the newborn baby will be exempted from the waiting period.
    > Am I correct?
    > 6. Any related information or advise is appreciated.
    > Thanks in advance for your answers.
    > Gpower

The Wizzard

I can only confirm the last part of your question and that is udner OHIP a
new born baby has no waiting period so they will be covered from birth.

Bodza Bodza

[email protected] (Gpower) wrote:
    > Now to my questions:
    > 1. How much may it cost to give birth in birthing hospitals?

They don't have "birthing hospitals" as far as I know. It is regular
hospitals with Maternity wards. My wife gave birth to our son in a
Toronto hospital. She had no health coverage either as she could not
complete immigration because she needed a chest x-ray. We weren't
going to do a chest x-ray with a baby inside...
It was a C-Section and cost $400 for the anaesthetist, $700 for the
surgeon and $450 a day for the room in the hospital for a total of
$2450 for a four day stay. Also I forgot to mention $80 for each visit
to the gynacologist during the pregnancy, once a week in the last
month *and* some $100 (I think) a time for blood tests/ultrasound
scans etc. All in all it probably cost over three grand ($3000).

    > 2. What if it is at home but being attended by a registered midwife?

Don't know.

    > 3. What factors need to be taken into account when deciding to use the
    > services of a registered midwife rather than going to a birthing
    > hospital other than the cost?

If there are complications there is a risk the baby could *die* on the
way to the hospital if e.g. the baby stops breathing or something and
on the way there is a traffic jam. It is not worth the risk to save a
thousand bucks.

    > 4. How should the payment for the birthing services be effected? I
    > mean can it be paid in installments or should it be settled at once?

The smaller payments they usually want up front. You have to go to the
hospital your wife intends to give birth in and register there. They
will take you to the accounting department and will ask for a large
enough down payment to cover a normal birth (i.e. about $900 based
upon a two day stay at $450/day).

    > 5. I think the newborn baby will be exempted from the waiting period.
    > Am I correct?

I don't remember. Maybe. You should look up the OHIP website to find
out.

Khalid Ghanem

The cost of private health insurance for the three months waiting
period for a landing immigrant is cheap. But, I am not sure whether
they will cover existing pregnancy delivery.

Why don't you land somewhere where will you be covered immediately?

bighead

depending on what kind of ward you want at the hospital and how long you are required to stay, it can be anywhere from $2000 to $3500 just for the delivery, provided you dont use an ambulance to get there (excluding obgyn/physician consultations, you need to be referred and registered at a hospital by a physician in most cases etc) assuming no complications (these days a c-section isnt considered a complication i guess; by no complications i mean after the delivery)...

newborns in canada (who usually become canadian citizens when they are born btw) are covered from day one... you may have to end up paying initially for services (since the mother wont be covered; usually till the baby get's its own health card, all services are delivered to the baby using the mother's hcn and they make their adjustments later) but can get it reimbursed after the baby's health card comes through...

midwives are cheaper ofcourse, and any decision to choose a midwife or a hospital is an entirely personal one and (in my opinion) shouldnt be looked at from the point of 'what would cost less'... you should do what you and your wife feel comfortable and safe with... example... with a midwife you dont get any kind of medical pain management, while you would have different options for the same at a hospital... keep all these things in mind when you make the decision...

Gpower

Thanks a lot for all of you who have responded to my post. I am happy
with the information I got from you. With the help of your replies, I
have made up my mind for my wife to give birth in a Hospital. Although
it is one option to land where there is no waiting time for medical
insurance, I have other reasons to land in Toronto. With the help of
God, I hope the birth will not be complicated and the cost will be
within our budget.

bighead wrote in message news:...
    > depending on what kind of ward you want at the hospital and how long you
    > are required to stay, it can be anywhere from $2000 to $3500 just for
    > the delivery, provided you dont use an ambulance to get there (excluding
    > obgyn/physician consultations, you need to be referred and registered at
    > a hospital by a physician in most cases etc) assuming no complications
    > (these days a c-section isnt considered a complication i guess; by no
    > complications i mean after the delivery)...
    >
    > newborns in canada (who usually become canadian citizens when they are
    > born btw) are covered from day one... you may have to end up paying
    > initially for services (since the mother wont be covered; usually till
    > the baby get's its own health card, all services are delivered to the
    > baby using the mother's hcn and they make their adjustments later) but
    > can get it reimbursed after the baby's health card comes through...
    >
    > midwives are cheaper ofcourse, and any decision to choose a midwife or a
    > hospital is an entirely personal one and (in my opinion) shouldnt be
    > looked at from the point of 'what would cost less'... you should do what
    > you and your wife feel comfortable and safe with... example... with a
    > midwife you dont get any kind of medical pain management, while you
    > would have different options for the same at a hospital... keep all
    > these things in mind when you make the decision...
    >
    > Originally posted by Gpower
    > > Hello all,
    > >
    > > My wife and I received the immigrant visas and are prepared to land in
    > > the first week of February.
    > >
    > > I have been following the discussions on this news group for some time
    > > now. It is very helpful. Many thanks to the consultants and others who
    > > have been taking their time to answer people's questions and to clear
    > > dilemmas. Let me post my time line if it helps anybody and go to my
    > > questions.
    > >
    > > My timeline from CHC Nairobi:
    > >
    > > October 2001 - Sent Application
    > > November 2001 - AOR
    > > April 2002 - Received request to submit medical results and send
    > > passports for verification
    > > May 2002 - Sent medicals, passports and receipt for payment of
    > > ROLF
    > > September 2002- Received request to send updated proof of funds and
    > > had been told visas would be issued by late 2002 or
    > > early 2003
    > > January 2003 - Received passports with visas and landing papers
    > >
    > > Now to my questions:
    > >
    > > My wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth around March 20,
    > > 2003. We plan to land at Toronto in the first week of February. We
    > > know we will not be covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)for
    > > the first three months. I think it will be very expensive to buy
    > > private health insurance for expectant woman.
    > >
    > > 1. How much may it cost to give birth in birthing hospitals?
    > > 2. What if it is at home but being attended by a registered midwife?
    > > 3. What factors need to be taken into account when deciding to use the
    > > services of a registered midwife rather than going to a birthing
    > > hospital other than the cost?
    > > 4. How should the payment for the birthing services be effected? I
    > > mean can it be paid in installments or should it be settled at once?
    > > 5. I think the newborn baby will be exempted from the waiting period.
    > > Am I correct?
    > > 6. Any related information or advise is appreciated.
    > >
    > > Thanks in advance for your answers.
    > >
    > Gpower

Stuart Brook

Gpower wrote:
    >
    > Thanks a lot for all of you who have responded to my post. I am happy
    > with the information I got from you. With the help of your replies, I
    > have made up my mind for my wife to give birth in a Hospital. Although
    > it is one option to land where there is no waiting time for medical
    > insurance, I have other reasons to land in Toronto. With the help of
    > God, I hope the birth will not be complicated and the cost will be
    > within our budget.
    >
    > bighead wrote in message news:...
    > > depending on what kind of ward you want at the hospital and how long you
    > > are required to stay, it can be anywhere from $2000 to $3500 just for
    > > the delivery, provided you dont use an ambulance to get there (excluding
    > > obgyn/physician consultations, you need to be referred and registered at
    > > a hospital by a physician in most cases etc) assuming no complications
    > > (these days a c-section isnt considered a complication i guess; by no
    > > complications i mean after the delivery)...
    > >
    > > newborns in canada (who usually become canadian citizens when they are
    > > born btw) are covered from day one... you may have to end up paying
    > > initially for services (since the mother wont be covered; usually till
    > > the baby get's its own health card, all services are delivered to the
    > > baby using the mother's hcn and they make their adjustments later) but
    > > can get it reimbursed after the baby's health card comes through...
    > >
    > > midwives are cheaper ofcourse, and any decision to choose a midwife or a
    > > hospital is an entirely personal one and (in my opinion) shouldnt be
    > > looked at from the point of 'what would cost less'... you should do what
    > > you and your wife feel comfortable and safe with... example... with a
    > > midwife you dont get any kind of medical pain management, while you
    > > would have different options for the same at a hospital... keep all
    > > these things in mind when you make the decision...
    > >
    > > Originally posted by Gpower
    > > > Hello all,
    > > >
    > > > My wife and I received the immigrant visas and are prepared to land in
    > > > the first week of February.
    > > >
    > > > I have been following the discussions on this news group for some time
    > > > now. It is very helpful. Many thanks to the consultants and others who
    > > > have been taking their time to answer people's questions and to clear
    > > > dilemmas. Let me post my time line if it helps anybody and go to my
    > > > questions.
    > > >
    > > > My timeline from CHC Nairobi:
    > > >
    > > > October 2001 - Sent Application
    > > > November 2001 - AOR
    > > > April 2002 - Received request to submit medical results and send
    > > > passports for verification
    > > > May 2002 - Sent medicals, passports and receipt for payment of
    > > > ROLF
    > > > September 2002- Received request to send updated proof of funds and
    > > > had been told visas would be issued by late 2002 or
    > > > early 2003
    > > > January 2003 - Received passports with visas and landing papers
    > > >
    > > > Now to my questions:
    > > >
    > > > My wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth around March 20,
    > > > 2003. We plan to land at Toronto in the first week of February. We
    > > > know we will not be covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)for
    > > > the first three months. I think it will be very expensive to buy
    > > > private health insurance for expectant woman.
    > > >
    > > > 1. How much may it cost to give birth in birthing hospitals?
    > > > 2. What if it is at home but being attended by a registered midwife?
    > > > 3. What factors need to be taken into account when deciding to use the
    > > > services of a registered midwife rather than going to a birthing
    > > > hospital other than the cost?
    > > > 4. How should the payment for the birthing services be effected? I
    > > > mean can it be paid in installments or should it be settled at once?
    > > > 5. I think the newborn baby will be exempted from the waiting period.
    > > > Am I correct?
    > > > 6. Any related information or advise is appreciated.
    > > >
    > > > Thanks in advance for your answers.
    > > >
    > > Gpower

The immense problem you are going to have in Toronto is actually finding
a OB/Gyn (delivery doctor) willing to take your wife this late in her
pregnancy. In some places GPs cannot even get referals to OB/Gyn's.

Gpower

My main reasons for not considering landing at a place where we will
be medically covered from day one were that
1) I have a cousin,her children and a brother of my best friend who
promised to help us in giving us a temporary place to stay and finding
an apartment or guest house to rent.
2) My cousin will be around my wife most of the time as she doesn't
work at the moment and would be of great help as she is an experienced
mother. My wife is pregnant of her first child.

Other people are also suggesting that I consider the option of
landing, say in Calgary, where we will be medically covered from day
one. Furthermore, after reading what Mr. Stuart Brook said about the
difficulty of finding an OB/Gyn (delivery doctor) in Toronto at this
stage of pregnancy, it seemed that I better give more thought about
this option as well. I hear Calgary is a booming city with cheaper
living expenses. At the moment I don't know anybody there who may help
us in the first few days. I may come to find some people through other
people - I am not sure about this. It is not about money, it is more
about convenience and smooth settlement.

Another thing is the weather. My impression about Calgary is that it
is much colder than Toronto. As we are from Africa where it is warm
and hot, we prefer not to be at the coldest places as much as
possible. I learned that Toronto is very cold at present. Can anybody
tell me more about the weather conditions in the two places.

My cyber friends, your replies are very much appreciated.

Gpower

[email protected] (Khalid Ghanem) wrote in message news:...
    > The cost of private health insurance for the three months waiting
    > period for a landing immigrant is cheap. But, I am not sure whether
    > they will cover existing pregnancy delivery.
    >
    > Why don't you land somewhere where will you be covered immediately?

Bodza Bodza

Stuart Brook wrote:
    > The immense problem you are going to have in Toronto is actually finding
    > a OB/Gyn (delivery doctor) willing to take your wife this late in her
    > pregnancy. In some places GPs cannot even get referals to OB/Gyn's.

True, but for pre-delivery she can see a midwife who should in theory
be accessible by means of one of the walk-in clinics. The delivery
doctor is in most cases not necessary unless there are complications
which may necessitate e.g. a C-Section