'Caught between 2 bureaucracies:' Why this pregnant Alberta nurse may have to pay for her health care
CBC
Justine Friedlander is a registered nurse providing care to Albertans, but soon some of those services could cost her thousands.
The 29-year-old works at a long-term care facility in Hanna, which is a roughly two hour drive northeast of Calgary.
She's been informed by the province's health body that she'll be without health insurance as of Nov. 23 unless something changes quickly with her permanent resident application with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The nurse, originally from Northern Ireland, is 6.5 months pregnant and has implied status — meaning she's legally allowed to work in Alberta.
She estimates the cost to deliver her baby due in February will be an "astronomical" $15,000 without provincial health insurance.
And if she contracts COVID-19 at work, she'd be on the hook for any necessary medical costs too.
"That's a kick in the teeth. At the end of the day, I signed up to be a nurse and I know that comes with risks… And [Alberta Health] sent me a letter back saying, 'You will be responsible for any charges that you incur if you require health care, and have a good day,'" Friedlander said.
"It's a little bit of a bite, to say the least," she added.
Friedlander met her Canadian fiancé travelling abroad, and moved to Canada in 2019 to be with him. She applied for permanent resident status in Canada in May 2021. Her Immigration Canada file has been confirmed as opened, but it has not moved past that point. The federal body has previously said its been experiencing processing delays due to the pandemic.
Friedlander was given two extensions to her health care.
The first was the one-time 90-day extension. She was issued a second 90-day extension after her MP, Martin Shields, advocated to the province on her behalf.
"They made it incredibly clear that this was not normal. This is a gesture of goodwill and not to expect that again," she said.
CBC has obtained the letter from Shields and other documentation which shows Friedlander's permanent resident status application, registered nurse status with AHS, and a letter from Alberta Health where she was informed she will not receive any further health insurance until her immigration file is moved forward.
Friedlander has considered going back to Ireland to deliver her baby, but there's a catch there too. It would invalidate her Immigration Canada applications, and take a rural Alberta nurse out of action at a time when hospitals are critically understaffed.
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