PCOS Message Board - View Single Post - Moving to Canada- Questions

Eirenay · 05-31-2008, 11:20 PM

In Ontario, we are under the OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). You will have a three month wait before you can be eligible for OHIP. OHIP covers doctors appointments, hospital visits, bloodwork, diagnostic tests. It does not cover prescriptions, eye appointments (most of the time), or some aspects of fertility treatments (ie IUI insemination).
If you have health coverage through your job, it could cover prescriptions and possibly some fertility treatments (my DH's coverage covers fertility meds up to a 5000 lifetime max).
If you do not have a family doctor (which there is a shortage right now) you will have access to walk-in clinics. You will need a referral to an ob/gyn, who will then refer you to the fertility clinic. If you think you're going to just do clomid, the ob/gyn may not have to refer you up. (I did clomid with the gyn and when it didn't work he then referred me up). There is a fantastic fertility clinic in Ottawa, one of our Ottawa cysters would be able to give you more information.

Ottawa is very expensive to live in so you will probably want to look to live in one of the surrounding communities.

Gatineau is in Quebec and they have their own health plan (each province has their own). Like pp said, if you are going to live in Quebec you will need to be fluent in French, while most speak english, there is an interesting attitude that occurs if they know that you are anglo and can't speak french, they will only speak french to you. I have learned this from experience. Luckily, I am fully bilingual, so I didn't run into too much trouble when I lived in Trois-Rivieres, but I saw it happen time and time again to my friends.

Welcome to Canada!