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 Immigrant Health Collaborative of BCWorking towards better health for you |
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Resources
Resources for Stress and Mental Health
Resources
1) Understanding Mental Health is a great place to start.
2) Here is an easy to use tool to help you get the help you need.
3) AMSSA has a good website with a wealth of resources - scroll to bottom of page.
Getting Help
1) Bounceback is really helpful self-management tool so you can walk through the tool to find help at home.
2) Talk to your doctor - she or he has many resources which will benefit you.
Healthcare Coverage
Q: So tell me about healthcare coverage in Canada, what is covered, what is not?
A: Medicare defines a lot of what Canada stands for. Canada aims to care for everyone equally. Tommy Douglas, an immigrant from Scotland, was the "father" of Medicare, named by Canadians as the Greatest Canadian.
All doctor, hospital, labs, diagnostic services are covered in the public sector.
However, in general, Medicare does not cover dental, physiotherapy, massage therapy, optometry, chiropractor, acupuncture. These services may be covered by your work through a third party plan like Blue Cross.
Medication coverage in BC is a bit complicated, it is covered in the next section.
Medication Coverage
Overview:
If your company has a medication coverage plan, then that is great! The following is mostly for people who do not have medication coverage through work. (Although most of the information can still have relevance to your plan from work - speak to your pharmacist.)
1) BC government covers a list of medications. For example, Penicillin is covered, a variety of pain medications are covered, many hypertension and diabetes medications are covered.
2) However, medication are covered once you pay all of your annual deductible. This helpful Pharmacare calculator tells you what your deductible is. Say your deductible is $400. This means after you have spent $400 for the calendar year, your medication coverage starts.
3) Many medications are not covered until your doctor (sometimes with the help of a pharmacist) signs off a Special Authority Form. See Q&A.
4) Many medications are not covered by standard Pharmacare nor Special Authority. You will probably pay out of pocket... ... but wait read Q&A.
Q & A
Q: My medications are too expensive. Tell me about couple easy ways to save money.
A: 1) Find a family doctor! One of the key roles of the family doctor is to ensure you are on the right medications, and answer your questions about the cost of medications.
2) Sign up to Pharmacare and find out if you qualify for specific cost reduction programs.
3) Engage with your physician to get the best medication at the best cost. Ask your doctors and pharmacists for covered generic medications. This is a discussion you should have with your specialist doctors as well as family doctors.
4) Check with your pharmacist to see if your medication is covered by the standard Pharmacare plan, OR check to see if your medication is covered by Special Authority program. Your MD can fill out the Special Authority form to get Special Authority medications covered. Talk to your pharmacist, they are happy to help!
5) If your medication is not covered, try re-engaging with your MD to find solutions or see if there are other medication options - it never hurts to discuss.
Pharmacists can also be very helpful with reducing the costs of your medications.
Q: My medications are covered by Pharmacare, but I have to pay my deductibles off first at the beginning of the year, I can not afford that. What can I do?
A: Talk to your pharmacist. Pharmacare monthly deductible plan allows you to pay a smaller amount each month, so you do not have to pay the entire amount in the beginning of the year. e.g. if your deductible is $300 per year, the monthly plan will even out the deductible to 12 smaller payments.
Q: My specialist gave me a medication that I can not afford. Can I even talk to my specialist about the fact I can not afford the medications?
A: It is perfectly fine to talk to your specialist about the affordability of medications. Because everyone's medication plan is different, doctors do not know if a medication is covered or not. So it is a worthy conversation. Pharmacists are a great resource and can have a meaningful conversation on your behalf to talk to your specialist.
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