OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) denies our adopted children

A new and alarming policy has begun to be inforced by the Ontario government and I have spent today writing all my members of Parliament and local MPPs to let them know how the decision of our government is and will affect our children, adopted outside of Canada.

Up until a few wks ago, a child adopted internationally was granted OHIP (medical coverage = we pay a lot of taxes for this and other things) upon arrival in Canada. These are children that have went with only the bare minimums in health care usually and have lived most or all of their lives in institutional care - surely they need this health coverage more than most. But... our government in their infitite wisdom has deemed these children as "denied" and we (and other families) will have to sit through a 3 month waiting period before our daughter can get the basic health care that we as Ontario residents pay for.

Do you know what that means for these children... for my daughter. It means even though they are deemed Canadian citizens from day 1 in Canada, they have been declared not worthy of the same health care that children adopted WITHIN Canada are. So... second class citizenship then? It is infuriating and sad. International adoption seems to be taking hits from all sides the past year and this is just one more straw on the camels back.

If this policy is not overturned (and I'm praying with all of us rallying behind it that Government will come to their senses and go back to the way it has always FAIRLY been done), what does this mean for the children - especially the children that have special needs? How many families can afford to pay for health care out of pocket for such simple and routine things as innoculations, testings, etc? And for special needs children - how many families will afford the types of special care that their children will need once home... should and can all these children WAIT 3 months just because our government decided to change a policy without any word or warning to the adoption community at large?

So... fellow Ontario residents - what can be done? If you are friend, family, fellow adoptive family... you can contact your local representatives - as well as others (I will add emails at the bottom of this post) letting them know that this is an unfair decision that affects negatively so many innocent children.

For more information, go to this open yahoo group where the situation is explained much better than I can explain it: CLICK HERE.

Here is the link to your MPPS in your area: CLICK HERE.

...and here are a few other people that helped make the decision that is now affecting so many adoptive families.

1.) David Caplan - the Minister of Health: dcaplan.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

2.) Abid Malik - the Director of Policy for the Minister: Abid.Malik@ontario.ca

3.) Heather Mack - the Chief of Staff for the Minister: Heather.Mack@ontario.ca

4.) Ron Sapsford - the Deputy Minister: Ron.Sapsford@ontario.ca

5.) Ken Deene - Assistant Deputy Minister, Health System Accountability and
Performance Division: ken.deane@ontario.ca

6. Dawn Ogram - Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate and Direct Services: Dawn.Ogram@ontario.ca


and... here is a form letter for anyone interested in writing (change as needed to fit your situation):

Dear _______________,

It has come to my attention that recently several families have been denied OHIP coverage for their newly internationally adopted children, having been told by both ServiceOntario staff and Ministry of Health staff that these children are required to have lived in Ontario for three months prior to obtaining coverage.

This is extremely upsetting to me both as a resident of Ontario and as an adoptive parent. This new policy, implemented January 2009, is clearly discriminatory as it does not provide equal treatment to our adopted children as is provided to their born-in-Ontario counterparts. It is even more confusing that the Ontario government would choose to deny medical coverage to infants and children who have just come from institutional care in developing nations and therefore require immediate medical attention to ensure their well-being, now and in the future.

This matter is urgent as every day, more and more children are being denied health care upon their arrival in Ontario. Ministry staff have quoted Regulation 552 of the Health Insurance Act as the reason for the denial of OHIP coverage, however to my knowledge this regulation has not changed and previous to January 27, 2009 internationally adopted children were able to receive health care immediately upon arriving home to Ontario with their adoptive parents.

Our adopted children deserve to receive fair and equal treatment as compared to children who are born in Ontario. I respectfully request that action be taken immediately to remedy this situation and I look forward to hearing your response on this urgent matter.

Respectfully,
Insert your name and contact details