As pressure on our health care system continues to grow, we need your voice to help shape crucial decisions that will impact everyone.
Urge the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship to drop co-payments and work with health providers and affected communities on solutions to prevent emergencies — instead of paying more for them later.
The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides limited, temporary coverage of health care costs to some of Canada’s most marginalized communities, including resettled refugees and asylum claimants. These groups rely on the IFHP to cover the cost of most medical care until they qualify for provincial or territorial insurance.
But starting May 1, the federal government plans to introduce new co-payments under IFHP, requiring:
A $4 co-payment for every prescription
30% co-payment for every other health product and service that is supplemental, including urgent dental care, vision care, mental health services, rehabilitation and essential medical supplies
These fees are a major barrier to care for families facing financial strain. When people can’t afford prescriptions or urgent dental treatment, they delay seeking care, which worsens health conditions and increases emergency room visits.
That is harder on the entire health system — and places a bigger financial burden on all of us.
Why this matters:
Costs don’t disappear. They just shift. When preventive care is discouraged, the bill shifts downstream into emergency rooms and inpatient care — driving up costs for everyone. Emergency departments are the most expensive setting for health care delivery.
Local hospitals will carry the load. Hospitals will not turn away patients requiring urgent care. The costs of delivering health care to these marginalized groups will be absorbed by already strained hospital budgets — and your provincial system.
We’ve been here before. Similar IFHP cuts were introduced in 2012 and doctors strongly opposed them. They were ultimately reversed because they were harmful and ineffective.
Take two minutes to call for change
Send your letter to the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship now.
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Canadian Medical Association
1410 Blair Towers Place, Suite 500, Ottawa ON K1J 9B9 1410 Blair Towers Place, Suite 500, Ottawa ON K1J 9B9
