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Canadian Passport
Canadian Snowbird Association
The Ontario government plans to eliminate OHIP’s Out-of-Country (OOC) Travellers Program by October 1, 2019. Currently, the program reimburses Ontario residents travelling outside of Canada between $200 and $400 per day for emergency inpatient services and up to $50 per day for emergency outpatient services.
Ontarians travelling abroad still require travel medical insurance. With the termination of out-of-country emergency services reimbursement the premiums for private travel medical insurance coverage will increase. The Canadian Snowbird Association estimates that the elimination of this program will increase travel medical insurance premiums in the province by 7.5%.
Every province and territory in Canada provides reimbursement to residents who require emergency medical assistance while travelling outside of the country. Under the portability provision of the Canada Health Act, government health insurance plans are required to provide reimbursement for out-of-country emergencies at in-province rates. The Ontario government’s move to scrap all emergency reimbursement for travellers is unprecedented and will further burden residents with increased insurance costs.
An integral part of our past success has been an email and letter writing campaign from our membership. In order to further our efforts in challenging these cuts, we are asking our members to write or email their local MPP, Premier Doug Ford (doug.ford@pc.ola.org), and the Minister of Health Christine Elliott (christine.elliott@pc.ola.org) requesting that the government of Ontario abandon plans to eliminate the Out-of-Country Travellers Program. As the government has only provided six days for official comment, we recommend that you submit your emails and letters as soon as possible. Contact information for Ontario MPPs can be found here, https://www.ola.org/en/members/current/contact-information.
You may also wish to review our Guidelines to Writing Government Representatives, https://www.snowbirds.org/writing-guidelines. We kindly ask that members copy the CSA (csastaff@snowbirds.org) on the emails and letters that they send.
We will keep our members updated on our advocacy efforts on this issue by email, CSANews, and www.snowbirds.org. If you have any questions on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200 or by email at csastaff@snowbirds.org.
Karen Huestis
President
Canadian Snowbird Association
The Voice of Travelling Canadians