Ontario OHIP question...

[star_shine 0]

Heyy all you Ontarians !!! i have a question about OHIP…

Our lovely free health care that im sure we all miss haha !

I know were allound to be out of the country for 6 months and after 6 months u lose Ohip!!

i moved here and im planning on going home for christmas …. which will be 5 months since my move here in the USA… my question is im i allound to seek medical while i go back home for christmas ?? technically im still a canadian i havent received my green card nothing!!??

advice please … ?

(and no i dont have health care yet… its over 500$ extra a month for my husband to add me on his assurance … and with no EAD i obviously cant work and find a job with assurance)

[Sprailenes 47]

No, you're no longer a resident of Ontario.

And health care is something you really should have thought about prior to moving here and the costs associated with it.

Health care is important and I wouldn't fool around with it, or spend 6 months living in a country without it.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Sprailenes

[Hugglebuggles 60]

The moment you crossed the border with your visa you gave up your Ontario residency. In order to be eligible for OHIP, you need to be a resident of Ontario like Sprailenes said.

You can leave Ontario for up to 6 months and still have coverage under OHIP, but you must maintain residency. This applies when you visit other provinces or countries, not move to them.

If you use it and get caught, they can bill you for the services later. That would suck.

[FireKari 4]

You are no longer able to use OHIP, you may as well cut up the card or place it in a box as a memento.

[CanAmBride 5]

My DH works in Ontario and will continue to do so when he gets his GC. Even though he'll be in Canada every day, he still has to give up his OHIP because he will no longer be a resident.

Stinks BIG time, but luckly I have good coverage through work that I will add him to.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Agree whole heartedly with the comments here - what if you have a medical emergency in the US tomorrow - even a small one can cost big bucks - what was your plan - to present your OHIP card? OHIP would figure it out in a minute that you are no longer a resident of ONATRIO and they would not pay your bill.

[star_shine 0]

Thank you all!!!

Well the plan was for my husband to add me on his assurance …. BUT we both didnt know it was gonna be 500$ extra a month!

i took care of all my health care before i left canada.. took enough refil to last me Months , thank god!!

Anyway thanks everyone for replying

[Veronik 19]

Thank you all!!!

Well the plan was for my husband to add me on his assurance …. BUT we both didnt know it was gonna be 500$ extra a month!

i took care of all my health care before i left canada.. took enough refil to last me Months , thank god!!

Anyway thanks everyone for replying

Yep, I agree with you... Moved here naively thinking that it would be affordable to get coverage with Chris... But for an extra 430$ a month because I don't work and I'm a FEMALE(!?!), no thank you, I'll wait until I get a job and my own coverage... And I won't skateboard or do anything stupid that could result in an injury... And I'll knock on wood that I don't get in a car accident or something like that... We just can't afford it right now. Money doesn't grow on trees (well, not in our backyard anyways...)

[nickbits 43]

Yep, I agree with you... Moved here naively thinking that it would be affordable to get coverage with Chris... But for an extra 430$ a month because I don't work and I'm a FEMALE(!?!), no thank you, I'll wait until I get a job and my own coverage... And I won't skateboard or do anything stupid that could result in an injury... And I'll knock on wood that I don't get in a car accident or something like that... We just can't afford it right now. Money doesn't grow on trees (well, not in our backyard anyways...)

I've never seen employer coverage work like that. Normally the rates are something like:

Employee rate

Employee+spouse rate

Employee+spouse+1 dependant

etc.

You might want to look into catastrophic coverage for a few months until you can get your own coverage.

Edited October 27, 2010 by nickbits

[Veronik 19]

I've never seen employer coverage work like that. Normally the rates are something like:

Employee rate

Employee+spouse rate

Employee+spouse+1 dependant

etc.

You might want to look into catastrophic coverage for a few months until you can get your own coverage.

Catastrophic coverage? Sorry, the name of it is just too funny! What is that?

[nickbits 43]

Catastrophic coverage? Sorry, the name of it is just too funny! What is that?

Basically it only covers emergencies.

Have a look at this for some info.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/healthcare/insurance/catastrophic-insurance.htm

What you do not want is to be hospitalized and end up with a 20k+ bill.

[Sprailenes 47]

No, money doesn't grow on trees, but you will end up having to pay a lot more if something happened to you now without insurance.

Think about the long term.

[Colleens 40]

When I moved to the US my husband has looked into his employer health insurance and was told he would be able to add me on. We ended up getting pregnant and one night had a miscarriage scare. Unfortunately the info he had been given about the insurance was not correct (as he was only part time at that point so insurance only covered himself). I ended up having to go to the ER with a miscarriage scare. I had a couple of blood tests, an ultrasound and an internal exam. The cost for this was well over $3000....and that was after the hospital discounted it since I was uninsured. That one little trip cost close to what it would have cost you to pay for a year of insurance through your spouses employer. Very few people "plan" on getting sick or in an accident!

[Canadiandggal 49]

It depends On the doctor at the er, I was not charged But it was a very sad day so.

My husband works with a international huge company and when i get there next week he will add my son and myself to his company coverage and the family coverage is 180.00 every two weeks for dental,vision and health. I thought wow that is steep but we could have 5 children and still only pay 180.00 semi monthly. I do not want something to happen and Us be stuck with a huge bill plus we plan on getting pregnant asap and we cannot afford to deliever in a hospital without coverage , heck if I dont have coverage I will be doing it at home by myself and i dont want that (I want a epidoral lol)

Edited October 27, 2010 by Canadiandggal

[joevegas 67]

And to think Millions of Americans are still brainwashed into thinking free health care is evil..makes you want to bang your head against a brick wall,but then you'd probably have to go to the hospital...