Kanchi Uttamchandani, Staff Writer
Featured illustration by Christopher Lai, Comics and Graphics Editor
International students contribute to the diversity of the York community and to the Canadian economy in many ways, but they are uniquely disadvantaged when it comes to accessing many fully fledged services, health care being one of them.
In response to this, the Canadian Federation of Students which all York students are members of, recently launched a campaign called Fairness for International Students, which aims to address these issues.
In terms of health care, one might question why such a barrier exists since Canada boasts a universal health care system built upon principles of accessibility, comprehensibility, portability, public administration, and universality.
International students in Ontario face a harsh reality, unlike their peers in other provinces who enjoy the benefits of a public health care plan afforded by Medicare.
Dating back to the early 1990s, international students were covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan and their tuition fees were comparable to those of domestic students. But nowadays they pay three to four times as much fees and yet they are not even considered under provincial health insurance. Instead, they are covered under the University Health Insurance Plan, which is provided by a private, for-profit insurance company.
Rawan Habib, VP-elect for campaigns and advocacy in the York Federation of Students, intends to lobby for the return of OHIP coverage for international students when she takes up her role during the 2016-17 academic year. “Within their tuition, they’re charged an additional $600 for health care called UHIP, yet they’re not covered for the basic health care essentials they deserve,” she says. “Nor is their health care accepted at all clinics, which creates several barriers for international students that they should not be facing.”
“The fact that we’re still discussing basic human rights for international students is a problem and we need to start acknowledging that they have the right to access proper health care,” adds Habib.
An exclusionary and private entity like UHIP implies that if you are an international student who requires immediate medical attention and the closest clinic does not recognize UHIP, you are required to pay out of your pocket.
Considering the high hospital bills that add up in the absence of insurance coverage, this can be a terrifying experience for students.
Mary Asekome is a fourth-year student and a VP-elect for operations in YFS who recalls her own experiences navigating the health care system with UHIP.
“Appletree Medical Centre is often closed over the break here at York so we have no other option but to go off campus to seek health care,” she says, referring to the private medical clinic at York Lanes. She recalls one particular experience where she fell ill during the break. A simple medical check-up and two tests cost her $170 at an off-campus clinic that she was forced to go to.
“I also know of some international students that refuse to go to the doctor because they feel it is not worth it to spend so much on basic health care, which we should rightfully have access to,” says Asekome. “After all, international students already contribute four to five times the amount in tuition fees to the government.”
“Another major problem is that there is no online or physical resource that specifies which health practitioners accept UHIP so we have to be the ones to do the research while in full-time studies,” she explains.
“Why should something so important be so hard to find?” As a member of YFS during the 2016-17 academic year, Asekome intends to raise this issue during the CFS-Ontario Lobby Week.
The intellectual, cultural, social, and economic contributions of international students to Canadian society should be acknowledged. It is high time that the government stop exploiting international students as cash cows and gives them their dues by returning health care to its previous state, which ideally everyone should have a right to.
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