The Quebec government will extend coverage of Ukrainian refugees by the health insurance plan, assured the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, on Wednesday.
We will find a solution, we will not let the Ukrainian refugees down
said the minister.
We are still in discussions with the federal government, but we would like to extend their coverage. Quebec has a commitment to them and we will keep it.
Many Ukrainians were worried about the end of their coverage under the Quebec health insurance plan and the costs they would then have to pay to obtain health care.
In a - report, a Ukrainian refugee was preparing for the possibility of having to pay $30,000 for her planned delivery in February, when her coverage by the RAMQ.
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Zhanna, 22 weeks pregnant and employed on minimum wage, does not know how she will be able to pay for her delivery.
Photo : - / Myriam Fimbry
Originally from Kharkiv, a war-devastated region now occupied by Russia, she arrived in Canada in October 2022.
Like her husband, she had benefited from the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU), created by the federal government at the start of the conflict and making it possible to obtain a work permit.
In Quebec, a night spent in the hospital costs around $5,000.
It’s huge for people who aren’t rich.
Lena Leblanc, a Ukrainian who has lived in Quebec for a long time and who volunteers with new arrivals, told -.
Many of them work for minimum wage and can hardly afford health care costs without Quebec health insurance coverage.
Since the start of the conflict, 300,000 Ukrainians have found refuge in Canada. Among them, 30,000 chose to settle in Quebec.
With information from Myriam Fimbry.
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