<aside> ⚠️

The information here is an AI summary of the advice people in our Discord have shared. Their experiences may not always reflect the accurate process. None of this should be considered financial, medical, immigration, or real estate advice.

</aside>

<aside> 🚧

This page is being expanded! Don’t mind the sawdust. :)

</aside>

Healthcare in BC is easy to get but not that easy to understand. It’s a combination of publicly-funded primary and specialized healthcare through family doctors, urgent and primary care clinics (UPCCs), telehealth providers, home and community care, hospital and emergency care, and specialists. Community-based allied healthcare like PT, massage, psychologists, mental health therapists/counsellors are a mix of private and public - the public system may fund them in some cases, often for low-income or vulnerable populations.

NOTE: Click the black triangle symbol to see more information on each topic listed below.

Accessing healthcare and coverage for newcomers to BC

How is my healthcare covered as a BC resident? What is MSP? How do I sign up?

What travel/bridge insurance should I buy?

How do I actually get covered once the MSP waiting period is up?

How do I see a doctor as a newcomer with MSP?

A brief guide to Canadian Healthcare (in BC):

Healthcare in Canada is delivered and organized by the provinces, so it can vary somewhat from province to province. This is what BC’s healthcare looks like.

To skip to specific topics, check out the BC Welcome Guide section on accessing healthcare.

The big picture: BC’s healthcare delivery and coordination is overseen by 5 regional health authorities who run the hospitals, employ the healthcare workers and provide community healthcare: Island Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health, Interior Health, Northern Health. Find out what health authority you are in here.

There are also population-based health authorities which coordinate the needs of a particular health or disease population:

• Provincial Health Services Authority (which oversees BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver) which encompasses the other population health authorities:
  • First Nations Health
  • TransCare BC - a coordinating agency to help trans and non-binary people access gender-confirming therapies.
  • BC Transplant
  • BC Cancer
  • BC Renal etc

Primary care:

• Family practice: GP, NP, Midwives: People with diabetes are high on the priority list for matching with a family doctor/NP. everyone should put their names on the HealthConnect registry as soon as you have a local address. Make sure to indicate any chronic conditions where they are asked about in the form - conditions like diabetes, current cancer or heart conditions may get priority. https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/find-care/health-connect-registry. Primary care providers are the gateway to diagnostics and specialist care, and provide most chronic disease management across the life course from birth to end of life care. (Not every family physician or NP does maternity care. In BC maternity care can be done by midwives, Family physicians in primary care or referred out to OB/Gyns or Maternal Fetal Medicine OBs.
  • Screening: Colon, Lung, Breast, Cervical cancer screening programs are run via BC Cancer (a BC provincial health agency). https://www.bccancer.bc.ca/screening