Social Policy in Ontario

Refugee health reversal an important step toward coverage for all

Posted on April 2, 2016 in Health Policy Context

—

TheStar.com – Opinion/Commentary – We should applaud the government for reversing the Tories’ cuts to refugee health care, but there are still many left behind
Apr 01 2016.   By: Faria Kamal Marcella Jones, Melanie Spence and Ritika Goel

Today we mark an important victory for health and social justice in Canada.

After years of public pressure and the unprecedented mobilization of health care providers, as of April 1, 2016, the federal government is restoring the refugee health program which was drastically cut in 2012.

The Conservative government’s cuts left refugees and refugee claimants without access to necessary medical care. On the ground, this meant many pregnant women were denied coverage for prenatal care and delivery, and children were denied coverage for crucial medicines and care.

As health-care providers, we witnessed the suffering caused by these cuts, which were rightly found to be “cruel and unusual” by the Federal Court. In the wake of these cuts, several provinces rushed to fill the gap by providing provincial coverage for those left behind. The reversal of these cuts shows us that Canada believes in the notion of health care for all people with a truly universal health-care system for everyone.

While we applaud the government in reversing the cuts made to this program and await the implementation of this reversal, there are still many that are left behind.

In 2009, Duncan McCorkell was diagnosed with colon cancer while non-status, denied life-saving treatment, and subsequently died as a result of his illness in Toronto. In 2011, Maki Ueyama and her husband received a $22,000 bill after the premature birth of their twins during their three-month waiting period for OHIP as new immigrants.

Like Duncan and Maki, an estimated half a million people in Canada are ineligible for health coverage due to their immigration status. This includes newly arrived immigrants in the three-month waiting period in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, international students not provided coverage by their schools or in limbo between school and work, temporary foreign workers between contracts, undocumented people, and even returning Canadian citizens who have left the country for a period of time. Those who are uninsured are active members of our communities: our neighbours, co-workers, friends, caregivers, farmers, and homebuilders who contribute to our society, yet are denied the basic human right to health care.

As in the case of refugees and refugee claimants, the denial of health care to these groups is equally cruel and unusual. Those who are uninsured often delay seeking help for their medical conditions which leads to worse health outcomes, and inevitably shifts costs to more expensive forms of care. It makes much more sense to let a family doctor diagnose and treat high blood pressure than wait until someone develops a heart attack or stroke. All uninsured people face the risk of significant financial costs and potential denial of health care services. As well, those who are undocumented fear detention and deportation and may avoid health services for this reason.

The response from our health-care providers, the courts, the public and now our government is clear. We, as a society, believe health care is a basic human right. Just as the denial of health-care coverage to refugee claimants was wrong, so too is the ongoing denial of health-care coverage to people like Maki and Duncan on the basis of their immigration status. It is time for a comprehensive policy solution to bring about a truly universal health-care system. Reversing the refugee health cuts is a great first step.

Faria Kamal is a doctoral student in clinical psychology in Toronto. Marcella Jones is a medical student in Toronto. Melanie Spence is a registered nurse in Toronto. Ritika Goel is a family physician in Toronto. All four are members of Health for All.

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/04/01/refugee-health-reversal-an-important-step-toward-coverage-for-all.html >

Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, immigration, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 2nd, 2016 at 10:00 am and is filed under Health Policy Context. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.