IFHP Interim Federal Health Program IFHP

Interim Federal Health Program IFHP: The new provincial program is designed to fill a health care void created by cutbacks to the Interim Federal Health Program IFHP in June 2012 by the federal government. As critics of the IFHP cuts forewarned, the federal policy change has had a negative impact on the wellbeing of medically indigent refugee claimants and on the health care system in general, according to The Star. These barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment often come at a cost, a large percentage of which will be borne by taxpayers at the end of the day. If we factor these extra expenditures into the cost-benefit calculation, it is debatable whether the IFHP cuts will ultimately result in less spending for the health care system and On Tuesday, Dec. 10, when the world celebrated Human Rights Day, refugees in Ontario had rare cause to celebrate an important human rights success. Just a day before, the Ontario government announced that it will join Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Quebec in providing health care to refugee claimants starting in January 2014. Frontline healthcare practitioners have observed multiple incidents of avoidable emergency room visits by uninsured refugee claimants who developed acute medical conditions as a result of forgoing primary care or not being able to afford medications. There are also occasional reports of refugees being denied treatment or asked to pay for services upfront despite still qualifying for the IFHP. Other media reports point to a growing number of the uninsured showing up at community health centres and volunteer clinics, whose capacity was already over-stretched. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.