Interim Federal Health Program: Health Services

Health Care Costs Dept: Between Jan. 17 and Dec. 31, 2011, 8,819 Mexicans racked up nearly $7 million in health care costs under the Interim Federal Health Program. Some 6,749 Hungarians charged more than $4.4 million, while 4,583 Columbians racked up more than $2.6 million in costs. Meanwhile, 3,790 Americans received more than $1.4 million in free health care. Jamaican claimants round out the top five with 809 health care users receiving more than $808,000 worth of health services, according to Montreal Gazette. That does underscore the reasons why we've reformed the Interim Federal Health Program. There's no doubt that it has been a draw factor for many false asylum claims, he said and oTTAWA Mexican, Hungarian, Columbian and American refugee claimants used Canadian health care services more than any other asylum claimants, according to new figures obtained by Postmedia News which the government argues supports its claim that so-called bogus refugees are abusing the system. Given the high rejection, abandonment and withdrawal rates for refugee claimants from some of these countries, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney argued this is proof the government was right to crack down on the breadth of health services that are available to refugee claimants. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.