Series preamble: To settle into a city you just lease an apartment and change your driver’s license, right?  Well, it is not so simple if a) you’re a nomad with no permanent address; b) your most recent permanent address was in a different country; and c) there’s a pandemic.  Here are some of my amusing obstacles to becoming a documented member of structured society again.

Fourth up – getting my provincial health insurance card

I have long been confused by the health insurance system in the USA, and when I embarked on self-employment, I was even further confounded.  Part of the decision to travel the world, included a general leap of faith (with some decent traveler’s medical insurance) that whatever health concerns lay along that journey, they wouldn’t bankrupt me.  I knew that things like malaria pills and my third hepA/B shot would cost notably less in South Africa than California.  I had also read accounts of travelers breaking bones in various countries, and how smoothly they were tended and how little they were charged.  Such information made the leap easier.

But was traveler’s medical insurance the best answer for hanging out in Canada, with a rogue virus on the loose?  Given I was sticking around, I decided that I wanted “in” on provincial health insurance.

As it happened, at that same time, the provincial health system wanted me (and every other ‘foreigner’) to know that if I needed treatment for COVID-19, I would get it just like everyone else – with or without a health card.  That was a true relief to hear, and a wild reminder that I was not in the USA anymore.

The provincial health system further wanted to help me (and other new residents) by eliminating the standard three month waiting period for registering for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).  Having an OHIP card ASAP had been a primary goal, and it might be able to happen quickly?! 

I now had a phone number and a permanent address, so the rest should be simple right?  Well…

• OHIP applications are handled by ServiceOntario.
  • ServiceOntario offices had been closed for many weeks due to the pandemic.
  • Some started opening in early May, but not the one closest to me of course.
• Not all ServiceOntario offices are ‘real’; some are private contractors to the government.
  • In hindsight, I missed some small print on the website. I went to my nearest, open office and listened to four hours of podcasts before finding out that having had an OHIP card in the past (ummm more than 23 years ago!), I had to go to a ‘real’ office.
• The ‘real’ ServiceOntario offices that were open, were operating by appointments only.
  • On my first try dialing the number, I got an appointment at the nearest, open, official office, within 48 hours. I later found out that this was quite lucky.
• The office was 26 miles away, in the townships.
  • While I probably could get a ride share out there, I was very skeptical that I could get a ride share back. It was still too early and awkward to ask a friend to give me a ride (with me social distancing in the back seat?)
  • That’s when I learned that an AVIS was across the street from my new apartment, and was just back to renting cars.* They had a new and thorough cleaning process, and offered a daily rental rate for less than the ride share would have been. And it was actually fun to crank some music and be out for a drive.
• An OHIP card includes a photograph.
  • I enjoyed my drive in the country, wearing my mask. I made it just in time for my appointment. The face mask mark across the bridge of my nose is now a lasting memory of the pandemic whenever I look at my health card.

Series Finale: I got a cellphone. I secured an apartment. I reconnected with my favourite possessions. And I have health insurance. All as a nomad during a pandemic! It took some determination and patience, as well as some openness and creativity, and a variety of forms and conversations – but I am ‘back in the system.’

And the luggage that had been my touchstone for more than half a year – is now resting empty in my closet.

* Note that I rented the car with my California driver’s license, which I may have for a while longer as Driving Centers appear to be the last to open. So the process isn’t quite over!