OHIP - out of Ontario for over 212 days

Getting Health Care (OHIP)
1

I’m currently out of Canada to help care for my family member who’s unwell back home. It’s most likely I’ll be out of Ontario for over the allowed period of 212 days which will mean my OHIP healthcare cover will no longer be valid. When I called Service Ontario, I was told I cannot extend my period of absence if I’ve not been in Canada for at least 2 years - I obtained my PR last year, but that I’d need to reapply again when I return to Canada. I was wondering if anyone knows if this can be appealed if you’ve got valid reason such as family illness? Any advice would be much appreciated, many thanks.

2

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be concerned about this situation and that you would be interested in what your options are.

According to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website,

If this is the case, you may want to try and contact the OHIP Eligibility Review Committee (OERC) to see if there are any other options in your situation.

We suggest that you also try and contact ServiceOntario for some information regarding your situation.

Call ServiceOntario, INFOline at:
1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only)
TTY 1-800-387-5559.
In Toronto, TTY 416-327-4282
Hours of operation : 8:30am - 5:00pm

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org

3

Hi Anna,

Many thanks for getting back to me on this, that’s useful to know. I was told by Service Ontario that I cannot extend my period of absence if I’ve not been a permanent residence for at least two years. But as i hadn’t anticipated being away for longer than 7 months, and with a genuine reason for my extended absence (family illness, and requiring to care for them), I was wondering if there would be exceptions to allow the extended period of being out of Ontario.

I was wondering if OERC have an email or telephone number in which they can be contacted, as I tried looking it up online, but don’t seem to find one.

Many thanks.

4

Hello there,

Thanks for sharing your additional question with us.

Unfortunately, we do not know of any other way to contact them .

You may want to try and contact the ServiceOntario INFOline to see if they have any additional information or suggestions.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org

5

Hi Anna,

Okay thanks for getting back to me, much appreciated.

Best regards,
Miranda

6

Hello Miranda,

You are very welcome.

We hope this issue gets resolved.

Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org