Cover for giving birth in Alberta or BC with working holiday visa?

[FayeandSi]

Hi there, I'm 6 months pregnant (baby is due on 21st October) and have an International Experience Visa for Canada-we are still in the UK at the moment. Me and my partner Simon are wandering whether it would be possible to get health care coverage for giving birth in Canada. Ideally we would like to be in BC, however the Medical website for BC says you have to be working 18 hours a week to be covered-this won't be possible as I will be too pregnant for anyone to give me a job and won't be able to work after the birth for a couple of months at least. It appears to be that Alberta might cover me if I'm not working-but we aren't clear on this at the moment.

Can anyone confirm;
1. If I would definately have to be working in BC to get covered?
2. If we could give birth in Aberta and be covered a month before the baby is due.

We could arrive in Canada at the start of September-with the baby being born in October.
Si is also a UK resident althogh cn get work and a work permit easy enough through his job-he would be entering seperately to me.

We hope to hear from you!

Thanks,

Faye and Si

Thanks!

 

[scylla]

I don't believe you qualify for Canadian health care coverage when here on an IEC (working holiday visa) regardless of which province you end up in. That's why purchasing medical insurance is a requirement to be approved for the program and you must purchase insurance that covers your entire stay (if you qualified for Canadian health care coverage - you wouldn't need insurance). Medical insurance typically doesn't cover any costs related to pregnancy. (Maybe you can find one that will for increased fees?) If you can't get coverage from your insurance provider, then you will have to pay for all costs related to the pregnancy out of pocket.