Momentum against BC's dangerous and costly wait period for health care is building with two detailed articles coming out in March. Sign the petition here: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/end-bcs-mandatory-wait-period-for-health-care-for
'A huge barrier for newcomers': Universality of B.C.'s health care questioned Gordon McIntyre 14 Mar 2023 Vancouver Sun
“The wait-coverage period is a huge barrier for newcomers. People often have been struggling for a long time to get status in Canada, and finally they get status and then end up without an MSP number.
“That leads to people being afraid to contact or access health-care providers, avoiding seeking coverage until their conditions have worsened to the point where they’re ending up in our emergency rooms."
“(B.C.’s three-month wait period) in a way is a privatization of the system, forcing people to get private insurance during this time. It definitely undermines universality.
How Medical Bills Can Slam a Newcomer to BC Moira Wyton
“Pregnancy can’t wait, and there is an abundance of evidence that this policy isn’t working and is actually harming racialized women in particular,” said Dr. Shira Goldenberg, director of research education with the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity - CGSHE. “But the government is still relying on these fear-based tropes about migration and resources.”
Having to wait or pay for care “can be jarring for people when Canada has a reputation for universal health care,” said Dr. Mei-ling Wiedmeyer, a family doctor and reproductive health researcher. “But anyone who works on the ground can see that’s not the case in reality.”
