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All of Canada's top diplomats have taken the extraordinary step of writing a joint letter to their superiors warning of an "untenable" situation as their health insurance provider fails to process claims for Canadian staff working abroad.
Oh, title was misleading. They have access to the healthcare, they're just having delays in being reimbursed
Wait, are government officials insured by a private company?
Healthcare in Canada is deemed a provincial responsibility, but that creates kind of a grey area when it comes to things like soldiers or diplomats deployed abroad. Which province foots the bill?
So, the fed just puts every federal employee on a private insurance plan. I believe it's Blue Cross right now. This applies if you're in Canada as well, that way wherever you get posted, the fed is footing the bill. Plus it means we get eyecare, pharma, some limited dental, stuff like that.
Interesting. That makes a lot of sense. I guess blue Cross is not too bad since it's a 501c4. However I would expect it to be easier to process.
Thankfully we've never had to deal with overseas claims (at least, not yet, sooner or later my wife will almost certainly be doing a tour in Latvia), so I can't comment on how that works. From the article it sounds like there's some kind of separate group that does the processing? It's not really clear to me.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
All of Canada's top diplomats have taken the extraordinary step of writing a joint letter to their superiors warning of an "untenable" situation as their health insurance provider fails to process claims for Canadian staff working abroad.
The letter says the new system managed by MSH International "has failed to function from the outset," forcing GAC to introduce emergency loans as a means to cover health-care costs β a situation "not everyone is comfortable with."
Pamela Isfeld, president and chair of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO), said members of her union reported problems with accessing their health insurance from the moment MSH International took over administration of overseas coverage.
Isfeld said Canadian foreign service officers based in the United States are facing a particularly scary situation because there's no public health care system to fall back on.
Diplomatic sources told CBC News Canadian staff abroad are looking to the Treasury Board, which oversees Government of Canada contracts, for an urgent resolution.
CBC News reached out to TBS for an update on the situation and asked whether the department could estimate when MSH International will resume processing claims for PSHCP members.
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