Is Canada's Healthcare Portable?

[JJReyes]

America's Medicare insurance stops at the border. I wanted to know if the situation is similar for Canadians. The reason for asking is because the preference by North American retirees is live-in caregivers. Canada's visa program permits families to bring in caregivers from the Philippines and other countries as nannies; to help with a family member who is disabled; and for the elderly needing assistance. The terms and conditions at the beginning were negotiated between the family as employer and the caregiver as employee with a placement agency as an intermediary.

Canada's human rights and labor advocacy groups claimed the treatment was inhuman because the caregivers had to work twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the Filipinos/Filipinas did not mind since they are accustomed to long hours and hard work. The rights groups "reformed" the system by requiring the payment of minimum wages, overtime pay and mandatory day offs. With minimum wages increasing to $10.25 an hour in May, families as employers maybe forced to layoff their caregivers.

I was thinking of suggesting (advertising) to Canadians that they consider relocating to the Philippines in retirement if there is a need for caregiver services. At the present time, my intent is to target Americans only for "overseas retirement care." Americans are not permitted to hire foreign caregivers. If you hire an undocumented worker, the new Department of Homeland Security penalty can be as high as $50,000.

We can hire in Hawaii a legal resident homemaker at $22 per hour through an agency.This is the equivalent of a maid in the Phililppines. The problem is a high school diploma is not a requirement. Fifty percent are functional illiterate, which means a 4th grade reading level. Seventy-five percent are near illiterate, which means a 6th grade reading level. The near illiterate cannot read the instructions for prescription medication.

Below is a recently news article.

*****

Minimum wage hikes and unintended consequences

By Sacha Devoretz, Vancouver Sun, April 18, 2012

Unpaid working hours, outstanding overtime, lack of statutory holiday and vacation pay were all realities experienced by

caregivers in 2011. According to British Columbia's Ministry of Labour, 21 complaints were received last year from

domestic workers filing grievances for problems with compensation from employers.

Many of those caregivers earn minimum wage, which goes up 75 cents to $10.25 an hour on May 1 - the last of three

scheduled increases. Caregivers in Vancouver are looking forward to the increased pay but fearful of how this raise

may affect their livelihoods.

With pressures of increased costs, some employers could be forced to put their children in daycare or terminate their

domestic worker. Caregivers worry that they may be expected to work additional unpaid hours to keep their jobs or that

their hours could be reduced.

"My employer tells me that I am more expensive than the monthly mortgage," says Lala, a local caregiver who followed

her family from Hong Kong to Vancouver. "I write all my hours I work but they don't give me the right overtime pay."

Lala is not alone. Domestic workers feel vulnerable when speaking out about unpaid wages. Caregivers are required to

work for two years, or 3,900 hours, before they are eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada. During this two

-year period, they may only work for one employer. Fearful that they may be sent home if they voice concerns over lost

wages, domestic workers prefer to stay silent.

Ai Li Lim, staff lawyer and executive director of the West Coast Domestic Workers' Association (WCDWA), has strong

concerns about the effects of the minimum wage increase.

"The caregivers should not be expected to bear the burden of this wage increase through increased costs for their room

and board," she said. "The government could provide other options to offset the costs, like an increased family tax

credit."

A few months ago, the West Coast Domestic Workers' Association received anonymous emails from caregiver

employers expressing strong concern about the rising wage. "Some employers called us to ask if caregivers have

rights," said Alisha Bell, an independent contractor working with WCDWA.

The issue of domestic workers lodging complaints against their employers is a complex one. Caregivers often live with

the family, eat meals together and take care of the children for years at a time. Domestic workers simultaneously

provide money to their families back home, making the pressure to keep their job in Canada intense.

Vancouver-Kensington MLA Mable Elmore said she has had visits from local caregivers.

"I have not heard any complaints from the employers of domestic workers, but we do have caregivers visit my office

concerned about payments from their employers," she said. Elmore refers the domestic workers to non-profit groups

such as WCDWA or the Employment Standards Branch.

Mary, a caregiver from the Philippines, said she has worked for an employer she claims did not pay her for hours

worked. "I put the kids to bed in the evening, the parents go out and I am expected to watch the kids while they sleep. I

do not get paid for this time," she said.

One alternative is a monitoring body that could make monthly reviews to ensure workers are paid for their hours.

"We recommended to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that a reporting system should be put in place to keep a close

eye on employers and make sure caregivers are paid proper wages," said Manuela Gruber Hersch, the general manager

of International Nannies & Homecare in Vancouver.

There is an obvious solution to this dilemma. Both federal and provincial governments should commit to assisting

Canadian families with the cost of care for their loved ones.

That means ensuring caregivers are paid fairly so that they can continue working. It also means that Canadian families

should be better supported to pay their caregivers.

Sacha DeVoretz is the founder and editor-in-chief of GlobalImmigrantNews.com. Based in North Vancouver, the website

provides a voice to immigration issues around the world.

[i am bob]

The fun with the medical in Canada is that it is all provincial and not federally run. The medical regulations in British Columbia are not the same as Ontario nor the same as Nova Scotia, etc... Overall, I do not know of any province that will allow for anymore coverage beyond the "SnowBird" coverage which will give you a couple months worth emergency coverage (this varies by province too) and then we need to switch to a personal medical program. This is probably more inline with what you are lookng at for Canadians. Unfortunately, coverage will vary by each insurance company as well as by each policy type that is out there. A good example is my own private medical insurance - PSHCP or the "Public Service Health Care Plan" for federal government employees and retirees. As aa retiree under this plan, I can bring my policy with me and it will cover the usual except for 'hospital services" (as a retiree I don't qualify for this). Unfortunately this is the area that lists the services that you are proposing. But this is my policy and not everybodys! And, most of these policies are 20/80 pay (25/75, 10/90, etc) and may or may not pay the full cost of a caregiver. In my opinion, if you can beat the cost of the deductible, you may just have a market. The only way to do that though is to research what the various policies are. I would start by looking at the larger unions - ie: Ontario Teachers (most impressive pension in Canada and possibly all of North America or more), Canadian Auto Workers Union, etc.

I know this is long and seemingly rambling but I wanted to show you how different it is from what you were probably expecting.

[JJReyes]

The fun with the medical in Canada is that it is all provincial and not federally run.

Thank you for the valuable information. If Canadian families in need of assisted care have to pay the new minimum wage of $10.25 an hour, those who cannot afford it might consider relocating to the Philippines. The $10.25 pays for one day's labor and that's for 12 hours work. So for $20.50 a day you can get 24 hours care (two persons). Let's double that number to $41.00 per day since you have to provide meals and pay an agency. The total is $1,230 a month.

The current cost in Hawaii is $350 per day. The caregiver stays with you for 24 hours and a replacement arrives the next day. You need to provide meals and a separate room. One family I met has a father with Alzheimer's. He woke up and found a "stranger" (his wife) in his bed. The father went to the yard to get a stick to hit and get rid of the stranger. Luckily, the commotion woke up the family. To have someone watching him 24 hours a day, the equivalent of three - 8 hour sh%ts, is costing the family $600 a day.

Luckily, the parents owned a house worth over $1 million. They sold it and from the proceeds, they have enough to pay for five years of care.

[BadBoy]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

[sjp52]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

[i am bob]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

That's true... There is a "but" here though... OHIP doesn't cover everything that is covered normally in Ontario but only for emergency medical treatment. I had a friend in the military whose wife visited while we were in Ireland. She slipped and fell and had a mild fracture of her arm - OHIP refused her coverage as it wasn't life threatening and and wanted her to fly home for treatment. Luckily she had what was called at that time GSMIP - our private health plan - and they covered her medical expenses in Ireland.

For the purposes of this topic and eligiblity of what JJR is looking for, regardless of the province, we (Canadians) are all looking at private health care plans for the coverage he requires.

[sjp52]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

That's true... There is a "but" here though... OHIP doesn't cover everything that is covered normally in Ontario but only for emergency medical treatment. I had a friend in the military whose wife visited while we were in Ireland. She slipped and fell and had a mild fracture of her arm - OHIP refused her coverage as it wasn't life threatening and and wanted her to fly home for treatment. Luckily she had what was called at that time GSMIP - our private health plan - and they covered her medical expenses in Ireland.

For the purposes of this topic and eligiblity of what JJR is looking for, regardless of the province, we (Canadians) are all looking at private health care plans for the coverage he requires.

That is good to know. I will call them to confirm this as they did not tell me before there was limits. Only the money limit.

[i am bob]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

That's true... There is a "but" here though... OHIP doesn't cover everything that is covered normally in Ontario but only for emergency medical treatment. I had a friend in the military whose wife visited while we were in Ireland. She slipped and fell and had a mild fracture of her arm - OHIP refused her coverage as it wasn't life threatening and and wanted her to fly home for treatment. Luckily she had what was called at that time GSMIP - our private health plan - and they covered her medical expenses in Ireland.

For the purposes of this topic and eligiblity of what JJR is looking for, regardless of the province, we (Canadians) are all looking at private health care plans for the coverage he requires.

That is good to know. I will call them to confirm this as they did not tell me before there was limits. Only the money limit.

I have talked to them on the phone and got the wrong information twice. I then went to the Ontario website and found all the info I needed within 5 minutes.

[sjp52]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

That's true... There is a "but" here though... OHIP doesn't cover everything that is covered normally in Ontario but only for emergency medical treatment. I had a friend in the military whose wife visited while we were in Ireland. She slipped and fell and had a mild fracture of her arm - OHIP refused her coverage as it wasn't life threatening and and wanted her to fly home for treatment. Luckily she had what was called at that time GSMIP - our private health plan - and they covered her medical expenses in Ireland.

For the purposes of this topic and eligiblity of what JJR is looking for, regardless of the province, we (Canadians) are all looking at private health care plans for the coverage he requires.

That is good to know. I will call them to confirm this as they did not tell me before there was limits. Only the money limit.

I have talked to them on the phone and got the wrong information twice. I then went to the Ontario website and found all the info I needed within 5 minutes.

You know usually when an issue is life threatening it is usually going to cost a lot more than $5000

[i am bob]

Canadian health care stops at the border. To be eligible for health care, a Canadian has to live in Canada a minimum of 6 months per year.

I called the ohip office and they told me that we have $5000 coverage any where in the world and you must live in Canada for 5 of the 12 months each year to maintain your ohip

That's true... There is a "but" here though... OHIP doesn't cover everything that is covered normally in Ontario but only for emergency medical treatment. I had a friend in the military whose wife visited while we were in Ireland. She slipped and fell and had a mild fracture of her arm - OHIP refused her coverage as it wasn't life threatening and and wanted her to fly home for treatment. Luckily she had what was called at that time GSMIP - our private health plan - and they covered her medical expenses in Ireland.

For the purposes of this topic and eligiblity of what JJR is looking for, regardless of the province, we (Canadians) are all looking at private health care plans for the coverage he requires.

That is good to know. I will call them to confirm this as they did not tell me before there was limits. Only the money limit.

I have talked to them on the phone and got the wrong information twice. I then went to the Ontario website and found all the info I needed within 5 minutes.

You know usually when an issue is life threatening it is usually going to cost a lot more than $5000

Sorry - I should have written that it has to be of a nature where treatment can not be deferred until returning to Canada - such as a life threatening injury.

Another point to consider is, in the case of a Canadian who does not have a Canadian address - (ie: one of us living in the Philippines) will not have any medical coverage even when we are back in Canada until we have lived there long enough to establish the minimum residency requirements. So for coverage to stay in a nursing / retirement home? Not gonna happen. My daughter was born in Germany while I was posted there. During a visit back to show her to the family, she ended up in hospital for emergency surgery in Nova Scotia. I should mention that she was born with Hydrocephalus and a few other birth defects. After a lengthy stay, I owed a million dollars for her care that was not covered by any provincial plan. Luckily, as I was in the service, my family's private plan (that yes, I paid for) kicked in and covered 100% .