Health Care for All in Quebec:

End the 3-month Medicare exclusion!

What is the “Délai de carence” (DDC)?

Since 2001, all new residents of Quebec, especially immigrants

and temporary workers, have had to wait three months from their

declared arrival before being covered by public health insurance.

About 40,000 people a year face this exclusion in Quebec.

A clear example of a “two-tiered” health system.

Under the DDC, new immigrants and temporary workers get stuck in the bottom tier of health

care! The DDC is part of a larger trend toward the privatization of healthcare in Quebec and

Canada. The costs of this policy are being borne by new immigrants and temporary workers

least able to afford it.

The DDC is discriminatory and a violation of human rights.

The DDC ignores provincial, federal, and international human rights by preventing

immigrants and temporary workers their right to physical and mental health. In Theory, those

rights should be exercised without discrimination of any kind. In reality, 84% of those being

denied Medicare under the DDC are new immigrants! For live-in caregivers and other

temporary workers, they may even go through more than one 3-month delay, facing major

obstacles to protecting their health. This is not the kind of Quebec we want!

The “Healthy immigrant effect” means it is not expensive.

The government of Quebec thinks that it can save money by excluding new arrivals from

Medicare, but this is not true. Immigrants generally arrive in better health than the Canadian-

born population, and are less likely to use health care services. However, for those that do run

into health problems, the implications are serious, even dangerous. For Quebec society, there

are economic implications and public health risks if people do not seek timely health care.

The result of the DDC: more serious health problems and debts that lead

to long-term poverty.

Many immigrants cannot afford to purchase private health insurance in the 3-month exclusion

period. People without health insurance are less likely to seek help when they have a problem,

so their health problems are often worse when they finally go to see a doctor. And, being

forced to pay out-of-pocket for their treatment, people under the DDC can end up with

massive debt. This is a lousy welcome to Quebec that translates into long term poverty.