In April of this year, the Ontario government introduced a proposal to eliminate all reimbursement for emergency medical services received while outside of Canada. This program, known as OHIP’s Out-ofCountry (OOC) Travellers Program, currently provides Ontario residents travelling outside of Canada between $200 and $400 per day for emergency in-patient services and up to $50 per day for emergency outpatient services. After six days of public consultation and meeting with Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) representatives regarding this issue, Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott has decided to proceed with terminating out-of-country medical coverage for Ontario residents. This policy change is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2020. To put this into perspective, every province and territory in Canada provides residents with some formof reimbursement for out-ofcountry medical emergencies. For example, in Alberta, residents are reimbursed up to $100 per day for emergency hospital in-patient care received outside of Canada. In Nova Scotia, residents are reimbursed $525 per day for emergency in-patient services obtained while abroad. While the rates of reimbursement vary across the country, this change will make Ontario the only jurisdiction in Canada to terminate all emergency medical coverage for residents travelling abroad. The elimination of Ontario’s Out-of-Country Travellers Programwill not only increase private travel medical insurance premiums by an estimated 7.5 per cent, it is also an egregious violation of the portability principle of the Canada Health Act (CHA). Sub-paragraph 11(1)(b)(ii) of the CHA states: “…where the insured health services are provided out of Canada, payment is made on the basis of the amount that would have been paid by the province for similar services rendered in the province, with due regard, in the case of hospital services, to the size of the hospital, standards of service and other relevant factors […]” Under the CHA, residents who are temporarily absent from their home province or territory, or from Canada, must continue to be covered for insured health services during their absence. If insured persons are temporarily absent in another province or territory, the portability criterion requires that insured services be paid at the host province’s rate. If insured persons are temporarily out of the country, insured services are to be paid at the home province’s rate. By eliminating all out-of-country emergency health coverage, the Ontario government is in clear violation of the portability requirement of theCanada Health Act. As portability is one of the five pillars of the CHA, the Ontario government is subject to discretionary penalties on the basis of non-compliance. However, to date, the discretionary penalty provisions of the CHA have not been applied by any federal government. With the Ontario government moving forward with these cuts and the federal government not willing to act, the Canadian Snowbird Association is now preparing to take the Ontario government to court in order to challenge the legality of terminating outof-country emergency insurance coverage. In addition, the Canadian Snowbird Association will also be filing an interim injunction to prevent the policy from coming into force. Challenging the illegal actions of the Ontario government is crucial not only for our Ontario members, but for our members across Canada. If Ontario is successful in cutting coverage, this could have a ripple effect across the country as other provinces and territories may attempt to implement similar policies, making travel medical insurance more costly for those who need it most. We need your help. All of our advocacy efforts are funded through member donations. Please make a donation today and help us mount this critical legal challenge against the Ontario government and its illegal termination of provincial out-of-country medical coverage. Online donations can be made on our website − snowbirds.org/ special-action-fund. Donations can also be made by contacting our head office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200. Access to emergency out-of-country health coverage is the issue uponwhich the Canadian Snowbird Association was founded. In 1992, the CSA was formed when more than one thousand Canadian travellers came together to protest provincial cuts to out-of-country medical coverage. More than 25 years later, the CSA has grown to more than 110,000 members across Canada and today, we are faced with an even more pressing challenge. Together, I am certain that we can win and overturn these short-sighted cuts to health coverage. Thank you for your continued support. Judy and I wish you a healthy and enjoyable winter retreat as you live the snowbird lifestyle. Government Relations Report Ron Steeves First Vice-President CSANews | WINTER 2019 | 13
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