CIMM – Interim Federal Health Program – November 25, 2024

Key Facts and Figures

• The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provided healthcare coverage to 518,136 eligible beneficiaries in fiscal year 2023-24, including 346,028 asylum claimants, with expenses totaling $590.4M.

• IRCC works with a network of over 150,000 registered health providers to ensure that beneficiaries are well-supported and can access medical care upon arrival in Canada.

Key Messages

• Through Budget 2024, the government invested $411.2M for the IFHP in 2024-25, topping up existing funding of $145.6M, to ensure that refugees and asylum claimants, as well as other uniquely vulnerable foreign nationals, have access to health care coverage to address their urgent and essential medical needs.
• A further $232.9M was earmarked in 2024-25 Supplementary Estimates (B), as part of an off-cycle funding decision. This is in response to increased demand on the IFHP stemming from sustained pressures facing the asylum system.
• Taking into account all funding sources, total IFHP allocations in 2024-25 are $789.7M. This represents an increase of $171.0M between 2023-24 and 2024-25, as Canada continues to respond to elevated asylum claim volumes.

Supplementary Information

• The IFHP covers the cost of basic health services (e.g., hospital and physician care) and supplemental care (e.g., mental health counselling, disability supports, dental and vision care, and prescription medication) for specific migrant groups that are ineligible for provincial or territorial health insurance.
• The overall cost of the IFHP has increased year-over-year due to sustained growth in the eligible population. Specifically, the IFHP’s client base has increased from 90,328 in 2015-16 to a reported 522,258 beneficiaries in 2023-24. Approximately two-thirds of these beneficiaries are asylum claimants, making them the largest sub-group within the Program.
• IFHP costs are driven by both the high volume of asylum claimants and their prolonged duration in the refugee determination process. As a result, IFHP health care spending reflects the needs of all claimants who enter the asylum system each year, and the accumulation of past claimants awaiting a decision on their claim or removal from Canada.