Health insurance | Slow-motion access for Ukrainian refugees

Access to health care is difficult for many Ukrainian refugees who arrive in Quebec with a medical condition requiring them to consult a doctor quickly. Iryna Levin, a mother who has been hosting an 18-year-old diabetic Ukrainian for two weeks, denounces the slowness of the system.

William Theriault
The Press

Originally from Kharviv, Anastasia Saprykina has been living in Laval since April 3. She lives with type 1 diabetes, which is characterized by a complete lack of insulin in her body. “Very dependent”, she must inject insulin six times a day, which costs a hundred dollars a week.

“When the war started, all insulin imports stopped in Ukraine,” Anastasia points out. I received a few boxes of it in Poland, but it was a short-term solution. Canada, for me, is not only a shelter from war, but also an opportunity to survive with my diabetes. »

“I don’t know what to do,” said M.^me Levin at The Press. “I am a mother of four children. Even if I have the means to feed them, insulin, I am not able to buy it out of my own pocket. »

The “theoretical” deadline has expired

The spokesperson for the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), Caroline Dupont, confirmed to The Press that Ukrainian nationals are “all covered for illnesses and medication” as soon as they take the necessary steps to obtain their RAMQ card. People who request it should theoretically receive their health insurance card within a maximum of 10 working days.

The RAMQ also claims that a “letter of eligibility” is provided to applicants pending receipt of the actual card. It serves as a temporary substitute. Expenses for purchasing medication before obtaining the card are reimbursed retroactively “when the file is accepted”.

Iryna Levin applied for Anastasia’s health insurance card on April 4. Still not having an eligibility or confirmation letter in hand, she called the RAMQ back on April 19, before plunging into a bureaucratic whirlwind. She says she spent several hours on the phone with various government departments, with no concrete results.

“These people come here without clothes, without money, without papers to flee the bombardments, adds Mrs.^me Wine. Many need medical services now, coming out of war. »

Not the only one

Hematologist and oncologist at the Lakeshore General Hospital, the D^D Liya Roudaia agreed to take care of Olena Markina, a Ukrainian woman with colorectal cancer, even though she did not have a health insurance card. The doctor came across this patient by pure chance, through a Facebook post indicating that she was looking to consult an oncologist.

“By the time she arrived, she was in a potentially curable stage, with a need for chemotherapy and surgery, explains the D^D Roudaia. I don’t know how quickly she would have been seen if I hadn’t answered her. »

Born in Ukraine herself, the healthcare professional lends her Pointe-Claire basement to a refugee couple in their twenties, whose wife is 32 weeks pregnant. The D^D Roudaia recommended this woman to a Lakeshore specialist, who exceptionally agreed to see the future mother without a RAMQ card. “I think war is an abomination, so I try to help in every way I can. »

Although she says she is “proud of her province since day 1” because of the efforts made to welcome Ukrainians, the D^D Liya Roudaia, on the other hand, indicates that “certain diagnoses, such as pregnancy or cancer, cannot wait”.

Anastasia Saprykina, the young woman with diabetes, was able to see a specialist at the Lakeshore General Hospital on April 11. He was provided with insulin samples free of charge. However, this is not a long-term solution. If the RAMQ does not confirm her eligibility, Iryna Levin plans to launch a fundraiser to finance Anastasia’s treatments.