Québec residents benefit from insured health-care services and products under the Health Insurance Plan, as well as prescription drugs if they have registered for the Basic Prescription Drug Insurance Plan.

To get your health care card or for more information about the Québec Health Plan, contact the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) or Quebec health insurance board at 1125 Grande Allée Ouest or 646-4636. Their web site is www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca.

To qualify for a health care card, you must be a Canadian citizen who lives in this province for 183 days of the year. You cannot get a card if you are a visitor, tourist, or student from another province.

If you are from another province, you must be here for three months before you can get your card. Until then, your former province will pay for medical services. You may have to pay for services up front and then request to be reimbursed by your former province.

When you go for your card, take these papers: the completed application form, proof of citizenship, proof of residence, and a photo which meets the necessary specifications. If you were not born in Canada, you will need to provide your immigration documents or your Québec selection certificate.

If you have just moved here from another country, you should apply for your card right away. However, you will not be immediately eligible for Québec health insurance. You will be eligible for coverage after a waiting period of three months. During this waiting period, it is highly recommended that you have private health insurance coverage, as you will not be reimbursed by the Régie for any expenses incurred.

If you are in Québec temporarily as a citizen of a country that has signed a social security agreement with Québec, you, your spouse, and your dependents could be eligible for the Health Insurance Plan under that agreement. You may also be eligible for a Health Insurance Card if you are in Québec temporary to work; have received a study or training scholarship; are the spouse of the worker or trainee and are accompanying that person; and are a dependent of the worker or trainee and are accompanying that person.

A photo and signature are required by most individuals over the age of 14. You will need to provide a color photo 43 mm x 54 mm taken within the past six months (dated on the back with a date stamp), that has a white background, and shows a front view from the shoulders up with your head uncovered. This photo can be taken at some pharmacies, by a photographer, or at the RAMQ office. There is a fee for this service. Self-portrait photo booths in shopping malls are not acceptable.

In order to receive free services covered by the Health Insurance Plan and Public Prescription Drug Insurance Plan, you must present your valid health care card. Failure to present your valid card may result in you having to pay for the services you receive and then apply to the RAMQ for a reimbursement. There is a special form available for this purpose. You cannot lend, give, or sell your card.

For more information about the Québec Health Insurance Plan, call the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec at 646-4636 or visit their web site at www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca.

Quebec law states “English-speaking persons are entitled to receive health services and social services in the English language, in keeping with the organizational structure and human, material and financial resources of the institutions providing such services and to the extent provided by an access program”.

This “access program” means that some institutions have been specially chosen to provide services in English. NOT all of these places, however, must or can give services in English at ALL times. It depends on the staff there at any given time and the type of services you need. If you do ask for service in English, you can expect that an effort will be made to refer you to a staff person who is able to help you well enough in English.

For further information about health and social services in English, you can call the Jeffery Hale’s Community Services in English at 684-JEFF (684-5333) or visit their web site at www.jefferyhale.org. For more information about the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux visit www.msss.gouv.qc.ca.

Info-Santé is a telephone information and advice service that responds to health and well-being concerns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the Québec City area call 648-2626. To obtain the number for your area, enter your postal code on the following web site to obtain the number to call, www.msss.gouv.qc.ca.