In the midst of a pandemic, hospitals would not comply with the new Quebec directive and would continue to bill COVID-19 care for people without a health insurance card, learned The duty. Fearing that this would discourage those most at risk of consulting, doctors and organizations are asking Quebec to rectify the situation and extend its policy of free treatment to all care, whether or not it is linked to the coronavirus.
Eva, who kept her real name to protect her loved ones, says she had a very bad experience in a Montreal hospital, where her husband, who is an undocumented migrant, was treated for COVID-19. “He was having trouble breathing and he had such a high fever that he was hallucinating,” she told the Duty. While waiting for the result of a screening test at the Place des Arts outdoor clinic, her husband became too ill and went to the emergency room, where she was confirmed with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Since she had no health insurance, a lady in the administration informed Eva that it would cost her $ 3,500 per night for a single room and several hundred dollars for each test and blood test. “I did not know that care was supposed to be free. I said “OK” because I was too worried about my husband. She is concerned that the account will exceed $ 50,000 because her husband ultimately stayed in the hospital for 14 days.
A month ago, Health Minister Danielle McCann announced that she was making COVID-19 care free for everyone without a health insurance card. Quebec was following in the footsteps of Ontario, which had announced a similar measure a few days earlier.
However, the instructions published on the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) site did not go everywhere in the field, where hospitals intend to continue to do as usual and bill people for care. which are not insured by the RAMQ, even if they have COVID-19.
This is the case of the Jewish General Hospital, which, except for asylum seekers without a RAMQ card, whose care is covered by Ottawa, will charge undocumented migrants. “If the patient does not have a RAMQ card or if he does not have private insurance, he will receive an invoice from the hospital, as required by the MSSS directives[ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux]”, Told the Duty Carl Thériault, spokesperson for the CIUSSS du Center-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Le Devoir also contacted the other four CIUSSS of the metropolitan area: two of them, the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île and du Nord-de-l’Île, replied that the hospitals in their area were implementing the new directive and the other two did not respond.
Having made its own tour of hospitals, Doctors of the World, which runs a clinic for non-status immigrants, expressed concern about this “variable geometry” application. “Some people told us that if a person came for COVID treatment, they would be billed, even if their test was positive. Others said it was unclear whether they were going to charge or not, “said Chloé Cébron, analysis consultant for the NGO.
Flatten the curve
Quebec doctors have it against the policy itself, which he considers “unenforceable”. How much of the care will a person receiving treatment for COVID-19 have to pay for while suffering from a chronic disease leading to complications?
In a letter addressed in particular to Prime Minister François Legault, some thirty groups defending access to health care for all, including unions and caregivers, say they are “outraged” that Minister McCann has, unlike Ontario, excluded from its new directive health care not linked to COVID-19. “If this decision is motivated by a public health approach, it is quite simply doomed to failure”, denounced the collective “Let us care for social justice”. According to its members, the spread will not be slowed down and the curve will never be flattened if there are barriers which may discourage people from consulting.
Abdoul, an undocumented migrant with his last name told Le Devoir that he did not go to the hospital last week when he had symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. “I know it has been said that it is now free, but I would never have gone to the emergency room. I have no guarantee that I will not be paid and I do not feel safe. “
Ontario health insurance goes much further than the RAMQ and currently covers all health care, whether or not related to COVID-19, regardless of the person’s migratory status. “What message is the government sending to the people with this policy? That migrants in Quebec are only worthy of access to health care when they suffer from COVID-19? Wrote the signatories of the letter. For Chloé Cébron, if Ontario does it, Quebec must do it too. “Especially since we are a province with many more cases. “
Watch it on video
–
