Monday 7 March 2011

TUBERCULOSIS: Toronto wants to end wait times for newcomer health coverage


Toronto’s board of health wants immigrants in Ontario to receive health coverage as soon as they land in the province.
Currently, newcomers must wait three months before they can come under Ontario’s Health Insurance plan (OHIP) which medical officials say only exacerbates health issues and helps spread easily treated diseases.
Officials cite tuberculosis as an example of a communicable disease often found in landed immigrants. Last year alone 300 cases were diagnosed in the city where treatment is readily available and distributed to those with health coverage. Most individuals affected, they said, came from countries where the problem is quite persistent and may not be treated.
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care only exempts newborns, certain refugees and some adopted children from the three-month wait, which simply isn't good enough said Dr. David McKeown.
"Newcomers to Ontario who have already spent time and money securing landed immigrant status should not have to wait three months for OHIP — especially when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases," said McKeown, medical officer of health for Toronto, to the Canadian Press.
"Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial," McKeown said Wednesday. "We know that newcomers without coverage are hesitant to see a doctor, which puts their health and the health of others at risk."
Ontario isn’t the only province that has a similar waiting period in effect; British Columbia also asks immigrants to wait before they can use provincial health coverage. In Quebec health coverage depends on several factors like how severe the disease is and looks at key factors like diagnoses and treatment options.
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/newsandviews/article/8141

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