Health card runaround hindering newcomers: agency

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This article was published 01/11/2020 (1655 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Health is making it more difficult for newcomers to obtain a health card, according to staff at Eastman Immigrant Services (EIS) in Steinbach.

Erna Friesen and Marcel Marinho said the problem predates the pandemic but has taken on greater urgency during it.

In an interview, the settlement facilitators said they’re worried the situation is discouraging newcomers from seeking medical treatment, including a COVID-19 test.

They want Manitoba Health to be more transparent about its reasoning and more consistent in the documents demanded of newcomers applying for a health card.

As it stands now, the department has tightened its proof of residency requirements but hasn’t said why.

“The biggest challenge, by far, is you have to prove you’re a resident of Manitoba,” Friesen said.

She and Marinho are the frontline workers of Canada’s immigration system. They assist newcomers at every stage of the settlement process with a variety of tasks. Marinho said one of the most common is health card applications.

“Manitoba Health is asking for things we’ve never seen before, like all addresses from the last two years,” Friesen said.

Marinho said applications are frequently returned with a demand for more supporting documentation.

“Now they come back with a letter saying, ‘We need this and this and this,’” he said.

He suspects the province is worried about people exploiting loopholes in the health-care system to get free medical treatment for those who don’t qualify for it under the Canada Health Act.

Friesen said creating new hurdles to obtaining a provincial health card is an ineffective way of guarding against that problem. A Manitoba health card is of no value to someone who doesn’t live in Manitoba, she noted.

Marinho said Manitoba Health keeps changing the list of documents it accepts as proof of residency. Sometimes it’s a housing lease, a bank statement, or a Manitoba driver’s licence.

Marinho said each of those documents can be problematic for newly landed immigrants, many of whom spend their first few months living with family and using their international driver’s licence.

Newcomers who do apply for a Manitoba driver’s licence right away get caught in a catch-22: you need a health card to get a driver’s licence, and vice versa.

All those documents can also expire and renewing them takes longer during a pandemic. Friesen said Manitoba Health also lacks consistency when deciding which people without a health card can have their dependents covered. Marinho said he’s seen instances where dependents of returning citizens were denied temporary coverage, while dependents of temporary foreign workers receive it.

The end result for newcomers is more paperwork and more trips to the EIS offices—up to six for one client, according to Friesen.

“We have some clients, it can take months,” she said. “It’s not consistent from one client to the next.”

Problems can also arise when the card finally arrives in the mail. Marinho said newcomers from countries with different family naming traditions frequently find Manitoba Health has printed their name incorrectly. He figures it’s because Manitoba Health’s computer system was programmed with Western naming assumptions.

Rather than print a corrected card, Manitoba Health refers newcomers to the Vital Statistics Agency for another round of paperwork and waiting.

Before the pandemic, settlement facilitators could send clients with complex health card applications to Manitoba Health’s client services headquarters at 300 Carlton Street in Winnipeg. But that facility is currently closed to the public.

Friesen said she worries the situation could prompt some newcomers to avoid or delay seeking the medical treatment they need. She recalled it took months for the Manitoba government to publicize the fact that you don’t need a health card to obtain a free COVID-19 test.

EIS previously brought their health card complaints to the attention of Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who arranged a meeting with Manitoba Health officials.

“All we wanted was to simplify the process for our clients,” Freisen said. “They (Manitoba Health) were not willing to do that.”

“Probably our biggest challenge is Manitoba Health,” EIS program director Gwen Reimer said.

Reimer said the umbrella group MANSO (Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations) shares EIS’s concerns.

She observed those born in Manitoba tend to take their health card for granted.

“People don’t realize the stress that it causes our newcomers.”

Reimer said immigrants give up a lot to move to Canada and deserve uncomplicated access to the health care they’re promised.

“It creates such a sense of security for them, once they have that.”

In an emailed statement, a provincial spokeswoman confirmed newcomers are being asked with greater frequency for forms of documentation that establish residency. She said it’s because Ottawa is approving more work permits that do not require the holder to work in Manitoba.

“These type of permits alone are not enough to prove residency in our province, which is needed to qualify for provincial health coverage,” the spokeswoman wrote.

She denied any legislative or policy changes to the health card application process.

“Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living reviews each application individually and requests supporting documentation on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the long-standing application process.”