Canada and UC

good afternoon to everyone!
I am an italian guy and I work for one of the main US IT Corporations. They proposed me to move to Canada (Ontario) and I would very much like to do it. The only problem would be my UC... I have it since 2005 and I fortunately had, so far, only very mild problems - actually no problems at all in the last few year. I take 2 mesalazine pills per day, and that's it.
My concern is about, mainly, how much I would have to pay for health insurance, if I disclose that I have the UC - and the cost of medicines.
I think, but I am not sure, that the Company would cover at least partially the health insurance.

I would be very grateful if any Canadian can give me some more information, all about living with UC in Canada would interest me.

many thanks in advance

D.

Hi, I live in Canada (Alberta) health care varies from province to province, but in general each provinces health care system covers tests like colonoscopies, blood, urine, stool, etc. If your employer has benefits through the company in Canada (which they more than likely do) most cover 80% of your RX...life insurance here can be another story, I myself am not able to get life insurance (like term insurance) but through your company benefits life insurance (although likely a very small amount) is likely the only kind you'd be covered for. Far as I know, Saskatchewan and Alberta doesn't charge for health care (AB used to) but I think all the other provinces do, still at a small price when you consider how expensive colonoscopies, surgeries and things of that nature can be.

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!

davian75,

I'm not sure what part of Ontario your moving to but if its somewhere in the nagara region/hamilton I have an excellent GI that I could pass on his name to you.

I'm Canadian and live in Toronto, my husband is Italian (from Rome). If you do decide to move here you are welcome to email me directly and speak to me and or my husband about our experience with UC and healthcare. We have a daughter with severe UC and actually lived in Ottawa when she was diagnosed. We were in Rome last year and have now moved to Toronto. If you are in or around Toronto, I would not be worried about the quality of healthcare available (I can't speak for the rest of Ontario, obviously, though we weren't thrilled with the pediatric hospital in Ottawa). You probably do know that there is no two-tier healthcare system in Ontario as in Italy, so there is no private option at all. All care provided in hospital, specialist appointments, GP appointments etc are covered by the province ("free") and prescription medication is paid for by your own personal insurance. Our insurance pays 80% for meds so if my daughter were to go on Remicade we would be responsible for hundreds of dollars per infusion. Since we can not afford this, we would apply for (and receive) state assistance.
I can honestly say that we have lived in many parts of the world (Italy, Japan, UK, US) and my feeling is that we are so incredibly lucky and I am so thankful for the healthcare available to us here. It is world class and that's the only main reason we are here - my husband has turned down several job offers outside of the country.
I hope that answers some of your questions but please feel free to email if you need any further info.

As everyone here has said, the healthcare in Ontario is free (called OHIP). I think, as a newcomer to Canada, you will have to wait 3 months to be eligible for OHIP.

Make sure you get enough meds, and see your GI before you come, just in case you have any issues during the waiting period.

Good luck!

Note, if you to Canada from the US, make sure you get on 5000 ui of vitamin D... There's not much sunny days to be outside soaking up the rays here in Canada. That one major problem I experienced, vitamin D insufficiency.

Hello there.
Like everyone said here all the main cost health related are fully covered.
Then for the meds even without insurance from your work you shouldt pay more than a third of the prescription.

I was living in Montreal and can give you a rough idea of what I paid for monthly supplies. (stating you dont have work insurance)
Salofalk suppositories 500mg (one a day) was about 25 dollars a month.
Salofalk enemas 4g (one a day) was around 60 dollars
Asacol 400mg 4 times a day was about 25 dollars
However before i moved to the uk they had the generic asacol available wich was much cheaper.

But all the other tests i never had to pay for.

I dont know if you are going to be on a special work visa but I would make sure to know if the work visa entitles you to healthcare first.
I get the feel you want to make the big move to canada but i feel you will be on a sort of visa first. Make sure to know what are you entitled to.

As well the main healthcare system problem in canada is the waiting time.
Make sure you have enough supplies for at least 3 months.
You need to see a GP first that will send you to see a gastroenterologist. Now the waiting time to see a specialist can be anything between a month to three!

It would be nice if you can bring your medical records cause it will simplifie you gastroenterologists understanding of your condition.
As much as we want to explain our condition sometimes between doctors they have their special language and it goes quicker!

And when you get to Toronto please go to a bar to see a hockey game on big screen.... especially if The maple leafs are against the montreal canadians!!!
You gonna have a blast and man lots of action there!

good luck

Oh Tournevice, really? Such a great post, full of helpful information... then you go and lead the poor fellow astray with your Leafs/Canadiens advice. Come now, we want him to LIKE hockey.

Oh and wasnt sending him to see the leafs and habs laying but more for the mad crowd that comes with it!!

Whew, I'm glad you laughed... you never know how people are going to react!

Leafs have been doing so much better this year I can't really put them down. But here's one of my favourite Leaf jokes, maybe you've heard it:

Q. Why doesn't the NHL want the Coyotes to move to Hamilton?

A. Because if Hamilton gets a professional hockey team, then Toronto will want one too!

Hi davian,

As many stated last year, we do have pretty good coverage here in Canada for hospital, doctor and test type fees. - What I don't know is how long you need to be living here before you get coverage (work visa, permanent resident, etc... ) Perhaps someone else who has moved to Canada could answer that better.

If you are in a relatively big city ( I think you said Toronto so, no problem) it shouldn't take you too long to see a doctor. I'm guessing a general doctor could probably continue your existing prescription at least until you get to see a GI specialist) But you should make arrangement as soon as possible and yes bring as much supply as you can just in case.

What I can share is my most recent (last week) expenses related to UC. I do have some private coverage through work so this is not what I paid but it is the actual cost if I did not have insurance. I am in Ontario so $ should be similar within the province.

Mezavant (similar to asacol)(1.2g/each) - 240 tablets = 443.17$ (for me that is 2 months worth)

Salofalk 4g enema (28 days) = 222.06$

Hope this can help a bit. Good luck with your decision and let us know if you make the move. Where are you moving from (Maybe I missed that info in a previous post?)

Sorry, forgot to ask. I currently take 800mg pills. I see you mention 1200mg. Do I get it correctly? Does it make differences in prices?

Thanks again,

also: not sure if of any help but if you are looking for some information you might want to look at the crohn's and colitis foundation of Canada.

www.ccfc.ca

They would definitely have a local chapter in Toronto. They might be able to steer you in some directions to find local doctors.