For refugees, “a small health fee” has become a huge barrier
Shilpashree Jagannathan, New Canadian Media, 7/5/2026
A $4 prescription fee may sound small. But for refugee claimants and resettled refugees arriving in Canada with little or no income, doctors and frontline workers say Ottawa’s new refugee health co-payments could become the difference between filling a prescription and going without care.
The fees apply under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), a federal program that provides temporary health coverage to refugee claimants, resettled refugees and other eligible newcomers before they qualify for provincial coverage or while their immigration claims are being processed.
[…]
At the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, co-executive director Diana Gallego said mental-health care is one of the biggest concerns she is hearing from clients. Some refugee claimants, including people who have fled war or survived gender-based violence, rely on counselling or psychological support as they try to rebuild their lives in Canada.
“Some of them said, ‘I don’t know if I can afford continuing my therapy,'” Gallego said.
Gallego said many refugees may not yet understand the new co-payments and may only learn about them when they arrive at a pharmacy or a pre-booked appointment. That could create confusion for people already navigating an unfamiliar health and immigration system.
[…]