Refugees in Canada: Interim Federal Health Program

Interim Federal Health Program: On June 30, 2012, significant cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program health insurance for refugees in Canada left thousands of refugees without any health coverage based solely on their country of origin. Ontario, among other provinces, has recently stepped in to provide urgent care to refugee claimants . In response, Minister of Immigration and Citizenship Chris Alexander has lambasted the province for its scandalous decision, according to The Star. That is why health care workers from coast to coast have expressed their opposition to this policy. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care, more than 20 national medical organizations including the Canadian Medical Association and countless individuals many of whom had never previously been activists or protesters have publicly denounced the cuts. In 2013, provincial and territorial ministers of health publicly decried the cuts, calling on the federal government to uphold its responsibility under the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and reverse the cuts and Once again political rhetoric has clouded the debate around the health of refugees. The victims of the worlds global conflicts have been rebranded by the federal government as conniving criminals and bogus asylum seekers. As young doctors, our years of training focus on delivering evidence-based medicine. A doctor peddling snake oil to solve all ailments would not be tolerated by our profession and neither should the equally un-scientific policy of the cuts. Considerable research has shown that uninsured patients not only have poorer outcomes but ultimately cost taxpayers more money by presenting later and sicker to the Emergency Room. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.