Medicare in BC question

[thanh245]

Hey guys im just curious about medicare in bc. When my wife comes to canada from vn, how long does she have to wait until she is able to have medicare coverage in b.c? Im just a little concerned because she might be pregnant when she lands here and i have no idea how much medical/hospital expenses are. Are there any options like private coverage? Thanks for your replies.

 

[Leon]

In BC, it is 3 months she has to wait. You could buy a travel accident and emergency insurance to make sure she is covered if something really expensive happens. Otherwise, your checkup expenses should not be that much.

 

[PMM]

Hi

In BC, it is 3 months she has to wait. You could buy a travel accident and emergency insurance to make sure she is covered if something really expensive happens. Otherwise, your checkup expenses should not be that much.

Pregnancy issues are not covered under Travel/Accident insurance, as it is an existing condition.

 

[computergeek]

The rule in BC is that your spouse is eligible for coverage by virtue of your eligibility:

A spouse or a child of an eligible B.C. resident may also be deemed a resident provided that an application for permanent residence status has been accepted for processing by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and the application remains active.

Source: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#who

She is covered two months, plus the balance of the current month after becoming a resident of BC. I'm not entirely certain how they interpret this with the "deemed resident" rule, but I would suggest you speak with the MSP folks to find out:

New residents or persons re-establishing residence in B.C. are eligible for coverage after completing a waiting period that normally consists of the balance of the month of arrival plus two months. For example, if an eligible person arrives during the month of July, coverage is available October 1. If absences from Canada exceed a total of 30 days during the waiting period, eligibility for coverage may be affected.

Source: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#when

Good luck!