Big blow to Indian students in Canada: Changes in health insurance rules made studies more expensive

Another bad news has emerged for Indian students dreaming of pursuing higher education in Canada. The government of Ontario, Canada’s most popular province, has taken a big decision to drastically increase the prices of health insurance for international students. After this new change, now foreign students studying in Ontario universities will have to pay more money than before for mandatory health insurance, which has made studying in Ontario more expensive.

Ontario government’s new decision and increase in insurance rates

According to official information provided by the Government of Ontario and the concerned Health Insurance Authority, the premium of the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) applicable to international students has been increased sharply by approximately 20 percent. These revised rates are going to be effective from September 1, which will have a direct impact on thousands of Indian students who are completing their higher education in Ontario universities or are planning to take admission there.

After this increase, students falling in the individual category will now have to pay 948 Canadian dollars instead of 792 Canadian dollars as annual premium. At the same time, for students with whom their family or household of three members lives, this annual expenditure has increased from 2,376 Canadian dollars to 2,844 Canadian dollars. In simple words, a single student will have to pay at least 156 Canadian dollars and a family of three will have to pay an additional 468 Canadian dollars.

There will be additional financial pressure on the budget of Indian students

Most of the Indian students studying abroad are already struggling with huge tuition fees, skyrocketing inflation and rising living expenses. In such a situation, this sudden increase in the mandatory cost of health insurance will badly shake their entire annual budget. Every international student studying at Ontario’s 22 major public universities is required to join this insurance plan, and this insurance fee is automatically added to their student account along with tuition fees.

Experts believe that amid the continuous changes and strict rules in Canada’s immigration policies, such financial shocks are affecting the mental and financial condition of students. Although the government argues that this step was necessary to take care of rising medical costs and maintain better health services, there is a growing concern among youth in Ontario about education.