All residents of B.C. must enrol with MSP
Under the Medicare Protection Act, enrolment with MSP is mandatory for all eligible residents and their dependents.
Who is Eligible?
An individual must be a resident of B.C. in order to qualify for medical coverage under MSP. A resident is a person who meets all of the following conditions:
must be a citizen of Canada or be lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence;
must make his or her home in B.C.;
must be physically present in B.C. at least six months in a calendar year; and
dependents of MSP beneficiaries are eligible for coverage if they are residents of B.C.
Certain other individuals, such as some holders of study and/or work permits, or working permits on working holiday programs — which are issued under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and are valid for a period of six or more months — may be deemed residents. Tourists or visitors to B.C. do not qualify.
A spouse or a child of an eligible B.C. resident may also be deemed a resident provided that an application for permanent residence status has been accepted for processing by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and the application remains active. For more information, see Covering a Spouse or Child who is an Applicant for Permanent Resident Status in Canada (PDF 274K).
Dependent - includes a spouse and children who are deemed to be a resident.
Spouse - a resident who is either married to or is living and cohabiting in a marriage-like relationship with the applicant, and may be of the same gender as the applicant. (Note: in the case of divorce, the former spouse is no longer eligible for coverage as a dependent and must apply for separate coverage.)
Child - a resident who is the legal ward or child of the applicant, is supported by the applicant, is neither married nor living and cohabiting in a marriage-like relationship, and is either age 18 or younger or age 19 to 24 and attending school or university full-time.
If you are uncertain about your eligibility or the eligibility of your dependent(s), contact MSP for assistance.
How to Enrol with MSP
If you are applying for a self-administered MSP account, complete an Application for Enrolment form.
If MSP coverage is available through your employer, union or pension plan, contact that office for information about group applications. Any existing self-administered account will be cancelled by MSP when your group application is processed.
If your employer, union or pension plan stops providing coverage under a group account, a self-administered account will automatically be set up for you and you will be billed directly for premiums from that date.
Persons who have or may be eligible for MSP benefits through Health Canada (Canadian status aboriginals) or the Ministry of Housing and Social Development should contact those agencies.
When does Coverage Begin?
New residents or persons re-establishing residence in B.C. are eligible for coverage after completing a waiting period that normally consists of the balance of the month of arrival plus two months. For example, if an eligible person arrives during the month of July, coverage is available October 1. If absences from Canada exceed a total of 30 days during the waiting period, eligibility for coverage may be affected.
You should apply for MSP coverage immediately after arriving in B.C., rather than at the end of the waiting period, to allow time for your application to be processed.
When a family moves to B.C. from another part of Canada and the husband and wife arrive separately, the waiting period for family coverage begins on the later date of arrival. If, however, a spouse will reside in B.C. for 12 or more months before the rest of the family moves here, that spouse needs apply for MSP coverage before the end of the 12 month period (coverage provided by the former home province cannot exceed 12 months). Once they arrive in B.C., the other family members can be added to the account - see Adding and Removing Dependents below. The rest of the family remains eligible for coverage in the other province for the balance of the month of departure plus two months, and will be required to complete the waiting period once arriving in B.C.
Coverage During the Waiting Period
New residents from other parts of Canada should maintain coverage with their former medical plan during the waiting period. New or returning residents arriving from outside Canada should contact a private insurance company for coverage during this period.
Changes that Affect Your Coverage
Address Change
You should report an address change to MSP immediately - if possible, use one of MSP's online Address Change Forms. (Also see Permanent Move from B.C.)
Name Change
When you change your name and the name on your CareCard is now incorrect, you need to apply to have a new CareCard issued to you with your correct legal name. When MSP issues a new CareCard because a person’s name has changed, a fee is not charged.
If you are covered under a group plan administered by your employer, union or pension office you need to complete a Group Change Request.
If you are covered under a self-administered account, you need to complete an MSP Account Change.
Marriage
When you marry (or begin living in a marriage-like relationship - see the definition of spouse under Who is Eligible?), you should combine separate MSP accounts into one family account - see Adding a Spouse below. If one or both spouses are changing their names, follow the instructions for Name Change.
Divorce
Upon divorce, the former spouse of an account holder is no longer eligible for coverage under the same account. See Removing Dependents below.
Adding and Removing Dependents
If you are unsure who can be covered under your account, see Who is Eligible?
Adding a Newborn Child
The B.C. hospital where the baby is born will provide the mother with a Registration of Live Birth form that includes a section, on the reverse, to apply for MSP coverage for the newborn. For more information please go to Baby Enrolment/Addition of Newborn.
Adding a Spouse or Children
If you pay premiums directly through a self-administered account and the person you are adding is not already enroled with MSP, complete an MSP Account Change . If the person is currently enroled with MSP under a separate account, contact MSP with details, including the person's name, personal health number, and relationship to you.
If you are enroled under a group plan administered by an employer, union or pension office, you need to complete a Group Change Request.
If the person you are adding to your account is already enroled with MSP and is covered under an account administered by an employer, union or pension plan, that account will only be cancelled if the former group plan submits a request. If the person has a self-administered account, that account will be cancelled when the person is added to your plan.
Absence from British Columbia
For information on your eligibility for MSP coverage and benefit entitlements while you are temporarily away from B.C., see Leaving B.C.