THE GREATEST RISK IN HEALTHCARE ISN’T THE ILLNESS — IT’S THE WAITLIST!
IMI Canada is a healthcare access consulting firm focused on identifying the risks created by delayed care, system constraints, and limited capacity within Canada’s public healthcare system. These risks are no longer theoretical — they reflect the current environment and emerge when individuals are operating within a system where reasonable access, timing, and capacity can no longer be assumed.
By taking a consulting-first approach, IMI Canada bridges the gap between healthcare system realities and the practical decisions people are forced to make when care becomes unreliable. The objective is clarity in advance — so decisions are informed, intentional, and made before urgency, pressure, or limited options take over.
Our work is proactive. We assess and analyze a client’s current positioning to identify product, service, and coverage gaps that may surface once real-world access constraints are applied. Because every client is unique, our work is highly specialized: we identify the risks specific to each individual situation and provide targeted recommendations to address the issues most likely to arise. Healthcare access risk is not uniform; it is shaped by personal circumstances, existing arrangements, and how those factors interact with the healthcare system itself.
STRATEGY
Strategy is where it all begins.
At IMI Canada, we use a healthcare access planning framework designed to identify risks created by delays and system constraints before they become urgent.
We examine how access challenges could affect health outcomes, time, and financial security, and consider how different insured and uninsured approaches may be used to mitigate those risks.
This work goes beyond choosing a product. It applies foresight and structured risk management, so decisions are informed, intentional, and made before urgency sets in.
Consulting
IMI Canada provides healthcare access planning and consulting focused on identifying risks created by delays, system constraints, and gaps in existing arrangements. A healthcare access review includes examining current products, services, and resources already in place to identify where meaningful gaps may exist.Based on that review, we outline realistic insured and uninsured options that may be considered — before decisions must be made under pressure.
This is a planning and risk-assessment service. It does not involve medical advice or care coordination.
OPTIONS
Healthcare access challenges do not have a single, universal response. What may be appropriate in one situation may be ineffective, unavailable, or impractical in another.
The range of options that may be available can vary significantly based on timing, jurisdiction, and individual circumstances. Some options may be limited, conditional, or time-sensitive, while others may no longer be accessible once urgency sets in.
Understanding the breadth of what may be possible — as well as the constraints and trade-offs involved — is an essential part of making informed decisions before pressure narrows those choices.
INSIGHTS
Original analysis, commentary, and discussions on healthcare access, systemic delays, and related planning considerations within Canada’s public system. This section may include articles, interviews, and podcast conversations offering professional and practitioner perspectives.
Access Risk: The Foundational Threat Canadians Haven’t Planned For
Article · Substack · January 2026
Waiting for care is no longer an exception — it’s a structural reality. This article introduces access risk as the foundational threat underlying health, time, and financial security, and explains why delayed care now overrides even the most carefully built plans.
Media
Ingrid Gahsner contributes regularly to national conversations about healthcare access, delayed care, and the growing financial and personal consequences of wait times in Canada’s public system. Her articles, interviews, and commentary have been featured in leading publications covering healthcare, policy, and social impact.
Smith has kept doctors and dollars in Alberta – but it doesn’t change access to care
Published in Healthy Debate, December 3, 2025
This Healthy Debate article by Ingrid Gahsner analyzes Alberta’s new dual-practice reform, clarifying what the legislation actually changes for surgeons, hospitals, and patients. The piece explains that while the policy reshapes where private care occurs and retains provincial capacity, it does not address the system bottlenecks that continue to drive long wait times.
We Can’t Afford to Wait for Health Care Any Longer
Published in Healthy Debate, November 24, 2025
This article breaks down the human and economic cost of delayed care, explaining how wait times now affect not only health outcomes but independence, family impact, and financial security. Ingrid outlines why timely access is no longer guaranteed and why Canadians must plan for delays before a medical event occurs.
60 Hours in a Hallway: Ontario’s Unfinished Promise to End Hallway Medicine
Published in JUNO News, November 15, 2025
In this widely shared feature, Ingrid examines the structural causes of hallway medicine in Ontario — including LTC bottlenecks, diagnostics delays, primary care shortages, and funding policies that force hospitals to run at full capacity. She introduces Access Risk as a growing consequence of system delays.
Exclusive: Off the Waitlist — Interview with Ingrid Gahsner
Published in JUNO News, October 27, 2025
In this interview, Ingrid speaks about the development of Access Risk, the inspiration behind Off the Waitlist, and how private medical insurance fits into a modern blended approach to healthcare access. She discusses her work with clients and why traditional planning overlooks the risk created by delayed care.
Book
OFF THE WAITLIST:
A Practical Strategy for Canadians Who Can’t Afford to Wait
Advocacy
Advocating for better access — and fairer solutions.
IMI Canada supports balanced healthcare reform that recognizes the real costs Canadians face when public care is delayed.
Our current advocacy focus — Tax Fairness for Private Healthcare Access — proposes that Canadians be allowed to deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses directly from income, rather than claiming a limited non-refundable credit.
This change would modernize the tax system to reflect today’s realities and provide meaningful relief for those forced to fund essential care privately due to wait times.
Advisors & MGA Partners
IMI offers two ways to support industry professionals who require expertise in international medical insurance. Whether you work directly with us as your wholesale MGA or engage us as an external specialist alongside your existing MGA, both options are designed to strengthen your capabilities while keeping your client relationships fully intact.
Advisor Support
Advisors can work directly with IMI as their wholesale MGA to offer international medical insurance to their clients. We support your business by offering:
• Case consultation & suitability guidance
• Product structure, plan comparison, and funding options
• Healthcare access planning expertise
• Global care pathway insight & private provider networks
• Claims navigation support
• Tax considerations for Canadian deductibility and write-offs of private medical costs.
• Knowledge of individual, corporate, and executive plan structures
In this role, our objective it to help you deliver accurate, confident recommendations in a product category that requires specialized knowledge, with the expertise and resources required to close the sale.
MGA Collaboration
IMI works with MGAs on a contract basis as an external specialist in international medical insurance. MGAs retain their full compensation and advisor relationships — IMI simply provides the expertise they may not have in-house.
We support MGAs by offering their advisors access to:
• Specialist case consultation
• Suitability and structure guidance
• Insight into tax positioning for deductibility
• Underwriting support on complex cases claims guidance and navigation
• Expertise with complex or high-risk cases
• A broad private provider network for global and domestic access pathways
This partnership allows MGAs to expand their capabilities without adding internal overhead. IMI integrates quietly into your system as a specialist consultant, not as a competing MGA.
Why Work With IMI
IMI delivers specialized expertise in international medical insurance and healthcare access planning—support that most MGAs and advisors do not have in-house. We provide the insight, structure, and resources needed to place complex cases accurately and confidently, enhancing your existing capabilities without competing with your distribution.
For advisor or MGA inquiries: [email protected]
WE’RE FOCUSED ON THE SOLUTION.
IMI Canada works with individuals and organizations seeking a clearer understanding of healthcare access risk and the options that may be available when delays matter.
If you’re looking to assess your current situation, identify potential gaps, or explore whether healthcare access planning is appropriate for you, we invite you to get in touch.
Initial conversations are exploratory in nature and focused on understanding context, not selling products.