‘It doesn’t feel right’: Pregnant woman denied health coverage over provincial ‘grey area’

CTV’s Danton Unger has more on a Manitoba resident who said his pregnant wife is being denied health cover over her immigration status.

A Manitoba resident said his pregnant wife is being denied health coverage due to what they believe is a ‘grey area’ in provincial health insurance policies.

When Nikka Escober came to Canada from the Philippines last year, she was looking for a job. She instead found love. She met Andrew Worth at a church gathering and the two hit it off.

“We started dating and, you know, the rest is history,” Escober said.

The couple got married last September and are now expecting their first child, but they’ve hit a roadblock. They say Manitoba Health has denied her health coverage as she is not a Canadian citizen and is currently here on a visitor record – an extended visitor visa.

“Regardless of the fact that she’s married to a Canadian citizen, (I) was born and raised in Manitoba, and the fact that she’s pregnant… the baby will be born as a citizen of Canada,” Worth told CTV News.

“This just seems like a weird grey area. It doesn’t feel right.”

They aren’t alone. Immigration consultant Cassie Zhang with AnMatt Consulting said she has dealt with a case similar to this one before.

“It’s a surprise. It’s a shock to us too,” Zhang told CTV News.

According to the Province of Manitoba website, visitor record holders are not eligible for health coverage. However, there is an exception if their spouse is in Canada on a work permit.

Zhang said there’s no exception if the spouse was born and raised right here in Manitoba.

That’s left her with questions.

“If you are a Canadian citizen, you are paying your taxes, same as the foreign workers, why are their spouses not covered?” she questioned. “So we don’t see why these rules are set up.”

Zhang noted the province does have power to decide who it will cover – pointing to a 2018 decision by the former PC provincial government to revoke health coverage for international students.

Other provinces have other rules as well. For example, according to the Government of Alberta, visitor record holders can get health coverage if their spouse is an eligible resident.

Escober will be eligible for coverage in Manitoba once she gets her permanent residence. They are going through that process now, but they don’t know how long that will take. Until she gets it, they say Manitoba Health has told them there is nothing they can do.

They’ve appealed the decision and have taken their case to the ombudsman. Meanwhile, the cost for Escober’s health care – and the care of her baby – is coming out of pocket.

“I’ve always had the health system there to support me when I needed it. I assumed it’d be there to help my wife,” Worth said.

CTV News reached out for a comment from Manitoba Health or the health minister. A provincial spokesperson responded by email, reiterating the guidelines outlining who is and isn’t covered.