The federal government is asking Congress to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending to cover medical costs for eligible refugees and asylum seekers. This budget item has skyrocketed in recent years as the number of these new immigrants has reached an all-time high.
The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) is designed to target immigrants who are not yet eligible for state or territory health care. By removing barriers to health care, the program makes it easier for refugees, many of whom are fleeing conflict or persecution abroad, to receive the care they need upon arrival.
There are also public health benefits. Help prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases in Canada.
Some resettled refugees receive medical care through IFHP for just a few months before being transferred to state programs. Some people remain in federal programs longer as they wait for their claims to be adjudicated, a process that is now necessary. 2 years or more Ottawa is grappling with a mounting backlog.
IFHP’s costs are expected to be $411.2 million this year, up from about $60 million in 2016, easily outpacing inflation.
The number of asylum applications is increasing around the world, and an increasing proportion of those applications are being filed in Canada. Andrew Chan explains how Canada became the fifth-largest receiving country for asylum seekers, and the public policy decisions that analysts say contributed to it.
As part of its efforts to cut spending and balance the budget, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government cut back on the IFHP and completely removed coverage for some refugees and asylum seekers.
The Harper government also said it was unfair for taxpayers to pay for a program that is, in some cases, far more generous than what some Canadians and permanent residents have access to through the public health service.
The decision to cut the program sparked a wave of criticism and was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.
In 2016, the Liberal Party reinstated the program. The program includes primary care, hospital visits, lab tests, ambulance services, vision and dental care, home care and long-term care, psychologists, counseling, equipment such as hearing aids and oxygen machines, and prescriptions. Especially drugs.
A review of data by CBC News reveals just how much the program has cost after years of global disruption and the resulting influx of people seeking refuge in Canada.
Medical costs for refugees increase sevenfold
When the Liberals announced the reinstatement of the program, the immigration minister at the time said the program would cost about $60 million a year.
The cost quickly doubled $125.1 million annually It more than doubled again from 2019 to 2020 $327.7 million in 2021-22according to government data.
In the government’s supplementary estimates presented this week (part of a legislative process asking Congress for more money to cover initiatives that have not yet been funded), Ottawa now has $411.2 million annually for IFHP. is requesting.
President Donald Trump’s pledge to crack down on illegal immigration in the United States has heightened concerns about the influx of immigrants into Canada. Officials say it is impossible for the country to house the migrants, while advocates worry that migrants will be risking their lives in frigid conditions.
A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the new funding for the IFHP will help “related to health benefits for eligible people as Canada continues to respond to an increase in the number of asylum applications.” “This is to cover expenses,” he said.
“These funds will enable the continued delivery of IFHP while offsetting costs for provinces and territories, supporting the government’s efforts to advance care for Canada’s most vulnerable populations. ”
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Mark Millar did not address questions about curbing the number of asylum seekers to reduce related health costs.
The increase in IFHP is just one of the budget requests for this year’s supplementary budget. The government is seeking approximately $1 billion in additional funding for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada this fiscal year.
Record number of asylum seekers and refugees
When the health program was fully restored in 2016, approximately 130,340 refugees and asylum seekers were covered. Government statistics.
Its appearance doubled The number rose to 280,322 from 2019 to 2020 as the federal government admitted more new immigrants. Many of them were coming from places like Wroxham Road in Quebec, where thousands of people enter Canada “irregularly.”
As then-President Donald Trump cracked down on immigration and ramped up deportations, more people decided to head north to avoid Trump’s dragnet. Canada too Tourist visa requirements easedwhich led to an increase in asylum applications at airports.
Canada and the United States have since moved to close Wroxham Road and end “irregular crossings,” and visa restrictions have been tightened again in Ottawa, but the flow of people applying for asylum and refugee status in the country has slowed. has not declined.
For the first nine months of 2024 alone. 132,525 people have applied for asylum — roughly the same number as all of 2023, which was already a record-seeking year.
About 53,000 asylum applications have also been submitted. As of September 2024 — This number is higher than all claims filed last year.
The surge in new asylum seekers and asylum seekers, combined with those already here, means IFHP is on pace to cover more people and their medical costs than ever before. do.
Conservative immigration critic Tom Kmiec said in a statement to CBC News that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and “his incompetent ministers have destroyed our immigration system and allowed fraud, chaos and disorder to flourish.” said.
“He encouraged irregular border crossings and encouraged asylum seekers to come to Canada. Cases have skyrocketed. Now Canadians are paying the price for the chaos he caused,” Kmiec said.
The Conservative Party has said that if elected, it would reduce the number of new immigrants by tying immigration numbers to housing starts. Kmiec did not say what the next Conservative government’s policy on asylum seekers and refugees would be.
Asylum seekers (also known as asylum seekers or asylum seekers) come to Canada seeking refuge and ask the government to consider them refugees. These claimants typically spend months or years at the IFHP, waiting for Ottawa to review their files.
However, resettled refugees fall into a separate category because they are referred to Canada by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, another designated referral agency, or a private sponsoring organization. They undergo testing abroad before being issued a visa to come to Canada.
Because these refugees are considered permanent residents upon arrival, they typically transition into state health insurance plans relatively quickly, but may maintain additional benefits such as pharmacy care for a longer period of time than other immigrants. Masu.
Past medical cuts for refugees were ‘disastrous’: expert
YY Chen is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa and an expert on the intersection of international migration and health.
Chen said the IFHP has two objectives: humanitarian and financial.
The program provides care to people who are escaping traumatic situations and have unique physical and mental health needs.
It’s also more cost-effective to address health problems immediately rather than letting them worsen, Chen said.
“These refugees will become part of our society in the long run, because we help them resettle and integrate into this society so they can start on the right foot,” Chen told CBC. He said this in a news interview.
“We also don’t want to leave any gaps when it comes to infectious disease prevention and control,” he added. “It could harm the health of society as a whole.”
Mr Cheng said Conservative cuts in the past had been “harmful” and had a “disastrous impact on the health of refugees and asylum seekers” and that cutting these benefits in the future would be extremely destructive. He added that it would become a target.
But Mr Chen said the recent historic surge in new immigration was putting “tremendous pressure” on a health system already facing a shortage of GPs and long waiting times.
“If you add more people to the system, it’s going to become even thinner. That’s the concern,” he said.
