April 2026
Honourable Lena Metlege Diab
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Canadian Doctors for Medicare strongly urges the federal government to maintain full health insurance for Refugees and Refugee Claimants through the Interim Federal Health Program
Canadian Doctors for Medicare (CDM) expresses serious concerns about planned changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) that would increase barriers to health care for refugees, refugee claimants and people who have been trafficked. The IFHP is scheduled to introduce co-payments (patient charges) for prescription medications and essential supplemental health services on May 1, 2026. Reducing coverage and increasing financial barriers for marginalized populations is likely to result in worse health and social outcomes with a potential to generate higher downstream costs. Canadian Doctors for Medicare strongly urges the federal government to reverse the planned introduction of these financial barriers.
The IFHP functions as a time-limited federal health insurance program for access to essential health services for refugees, refugee claimants and people who have been trafficked during a period when they are typically ineligible for provincial coverage and lack access to other forms of health insurance. This transitional period coincides with higher medical needs, including untreated chronic conditions, trauma-related mental illness, and disrupted access to prior care. Despite the higher need, IFHP spending per beneficiary remains substantially lower than per capita public health spending for the Canadian population: $1645 per asylum claimant in 2024/25, compared to $5868 in provincial / territorial plans. Although most refugees, refugee claimants and people who have been trafficked will ultimately become citizens of Canada, this transition is also a time of greatest social vulnerability, with substantial barriers to accessing health care, education and employment opportunities.
The introduction of co-payments must be considered in light of Canadian and international evidence demonstrating that these added costs reduce access to necessary care among low-income populations. For refugees, refugee claimants and people who have been trafficked, who frequently experience severe financial precarity, such charges may be insurmountable barriers to care.
Because refugees have often been deprived of health care in their home countries, services categorized as “supplemental” under IFHP—such as psychotherapy, physical therapy, home oxygen, and wheelchairs—are, in practice, essential to maintaining health, enabling workforce participation, and supporting successful integration. Limiting access to these services risks prolonging disability and delaying participation in society. Furthermore, this can have downstream intergenerational impacts, where children suffer from living in prolonged poverty, precarity, and isolation.
Financial barriers have system-wide consequences. Robust international evidence shows that reduced access to timely primary and preventive care leads to disease progression, increased reliance on costly emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and increased long-term health complications and disability. For example, patients who are unable to afford essential medications for diabetes or heart disease predictably require acute care, with average costs exceeding $7,800 per hospital admission in Canada. These costs are borne either directly by IFHP (in the case of refugee claimants) or shifted to provincial systems (in the case of resettled refugees), undermining the stated objective of cost savings.
Policies for health insurance should prioritize timely access to essential care, minimize barriers for marginalized and high needs populations, and focus on interventions that reduce avoidable acute care use. Evidence-informed policy approaches include maintaining comprehensive IFHP coverage without patient charges and investing in early and coordinated primary care, which includes preventative and rehabilitative care.
Canadian Doctors for Medicare joins other national medical organizations, including the Canadian Medical Association, in calling on the Minister of Immigration and Prime Minister to reverse the proposed IFHP cuts and co-payments and to fully reinstate the IFHP. These co-payments will deny refugee newcomers access to essential medications and health services, with detrimental consequences for individuals' health, as well as result in increased costs and strain on the healthcare system.