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SofiaLo

Newbie
Apr 30, 2018
6
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My parents were sponsored by my sister and her husband. They are now Canadian Citizens. A couple of months ago my father had a blond clot and needed brain surgery. Although he is now mentally awake and is aware of things, he needs full mobility assistance and currently in long term rehab. There is a lot of out-of-pocket expense for the rehab and long term care. My sister's husband insisted that they go back to their country of origin so he will not be responsible for their expense. But he is unable to move on his own and it will be extremely difficult for him to travel 23 - 30 hrs of flight with a couple of connections. Now my sister husband has lied and told the social workers that my parents are wealthy and should be responsible for their medical expense. The social workers believing his lies are asking my parents about it. Are my parents responsible for their medical expense even though they haven't had any income in Canada?
 
Well, your brother in law and sister signed a sponsorship obligation to support your parents, regardless of whether they have money or not. If your parents can’t pay, the government will get their money regardless of what your brother in law says. As far as him forcing them to fly back, your dad would probably need a doctors certificate to get on a plane. Go talk to his physician and explain the situation. I’d also talk to the social workers yourself....it’s borderline elder abuse forcing him to leave due to financial concerns.
 
Well I found it odd that the social workers are asking my Mom to provide a document that shows the value of their house back home and their bank statements. They are totally buying my brother-in-law lies and falling for his manipulation. Has this even been done where a sponsored individual was forced to sell their only house at their home country to cover medical expenses?
 
There are often many out of pocket expenses which people are not aware of when dealing with the healthcare system. People are under the false impression that medicare covers all these costs. This is really a family issue if your parents have assets or your sister's family has assets someone needs to pay.
 
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Well I found it odd that the social workers are asking my Mom to provide a document that shows the value of their house back home and their bank statements. They are totally buying my brother-in-law lies and falling for his manipulation. Has this even been done where a sponsored individual was forced to sell their only house at their home country to cover medical expenses?

Why would you find it odd? If they receive a report of potential fraud, it must be investigated.
 
Also if you are not low income you usually have to pay for things yourself. If your parents have assets not crazy to assume that they may pay their own expenses.
 
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Why would that make a difference?

An asset is an asset. If your family had zero savings or property they might qualify for some special programs, charities, etc. If your parents have the ability to pay they will be asked to cover some costs. Many low income senior do go without so if you can't pay you don't get everything for free.
 
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Sorry if I am asking obvious questions. I don't live in Canada so I am trying to understand the logic. Thanks

Not everything to do with heathcare in Canada is free. Coverage for a lot of things like long-term care and rehab depends on income/assets. That means ALL income/assets, not just those in Canada. Those who can't afford to pay themselves receive government assistance.
 
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As your family will soon find out you get pretty minimal care. Either you have to hire more or the family has to do a lot. Also things like wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds at home, etc are not usually covered unless you have supplementary insurance. You will also be asked to pay a bed fee for longterm care. Cost is still is partially covered by the taxpayer.
 
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Why would you find it odd? If they receive a report of potential fraud, it must be investigated.


in some communties they lie about income so they can sponsor their parents to come and live in canada
 
Well I found it odd that the social workers are asking my Mom to provide a document that shows the value of their house back home and their bank statements. They are totally buying my brother-in-law lies and falling for his manipulation. Has this even been done where a sponsored individual was forced to sell their only house at their home country to cover medical expenses?

They are not forcing him to do anything. I imagine the reason they are asking about his overseas bank accounts and assets, is for Canada to determine if he would be eligible for low-income assistance programs to help pay for his medical costs. If they determine he has significant assets/money outside of Canada, then they may deem him not eligible and would demand he pay out of pocket for any services not covered by provincial healthcare. It would be entirely up to your parents if they wanted to sell their assets in home country or not.

If they can show their assets/money in home country is not significant (so they are not rich), they may still qualify for having some of his long term medical costs subsidized. I have no idea if this counts against the PR sponsorship undertaking that your sister signed for them.

And on a side note your brother in law sounds like a bit of a jerk.
 
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