Based on coverage from The Star, Castanet, The Hamilton Spectator, and Chat News Today.
Refugees and refugee claimants in Canada are starting to pay more out of their own pockets for basic health needs, after federal changes to the Interim Federal Health Program took effect Friday.
The shift ends decades of full coverage for things like prescriptions and certain supplemental services while newcomers wait to qualify for provincial health plans. Ottawa says the move is meant to save money, but health and refugee groups warn it will put care out of reach for people who are already struggling financially.
Interim Federal Health Program co-pay changes
Under the new rules, refugees and refugee claimants covered by the Interim Federal Health Program must now pay $4 for every prescription. They will also have to cover 30 per cent of the cost of supplemental health products and services.
Those supplemental items include mental health counselling, dental services, vision care and health equipment, including wheelchairs.
The program will still pay the full cost of doctor’s appointments and hospital visits for refugees and refugee claimants.
What refugees now pay for prescriptions
The $4-per-prescription charge is small on paper, but front-line clinicians argue it adds up quickly, especially for people managing chronic conditions or mental health needs that require multiple medications.
Dr. Vanessa Redditt, a family physician at Women’s College Hospital’s refugee clinic in Toronto, said many of her patients are already living in poverty. From her perspective, even modest co-pays create a real barrier to treatment.
“It is a denial of care,” Redditt said, adding that some patients are dealing with suicidality connected to experiences such as torture or sexual violence, compounded by precarious immigration status and unstable housing.
She also described refugees still living in shelters and feeling unsafe, and warned that losing access to trauma therapy because of cost could make those situations worse.
Doctors warn of rising emergency department pressure
More than a dozen medical, nursing, social work and refugee organizations have spoken out against the changes. Groups named in the reporting include the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the Canadian Nurses Association.
Their central argument is straightforward: refugees often cannot afford new co-payments, so they may skip medications, counselling, or other supports. If conditions worsen, people may end up seeking help later in more expensive ways, including visits to emergency departments.
In other words, opponents say the federal savings could be offset by higher downstream costs in Canada’s broader health-care system, with provinces and hospitals often left handling the fallout.
Ottawa cost-saving rationale and political reaction
The federal government signalled the change in last year’s budget, describing co-payments as a necessary cost-saving measure.
The Canadian Press reported it reached out to Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab’s office for comment.
Why refugee health supports affect integration
Some clinicians also frame the issue as one of settlement and economic participation, not just health coverage.
Dr. Parisa Rezaiefar, physician lead of the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre, said many refugees arrive in Canada ill or injured, and that early treatment can speed up integration. She argued that dealing with medical conditions quickly helps people move sooner into language training and vocational training, reducing the length of time they need supplemental supports.
Rezaiefar, who came to Canada as a refugee from Iran in the 1990s, presented the approach as an investment: treat problems early, and people can stabilize faster and contribute to their communities sooner.
For refugees trying to get established in a new country, the practical question now is whether co-pays will be manageable or whether they will become one more reason to delay care until a problem becomes an emergency.
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