There's Now A Much Easier Way To Renew Your RAMQ Card — But It Won't Last Forever
No need to go to the SAAQ.
An SAAQ office in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Right: The flag of Quebec against a cloud-covered sky.
In light of the SAAQ debacle, Quebec's Régie de l'assurance maladie (RAMQ) is introducing a new, much easier — albeit temporary — way for Quebecers to renew their health insurance cards.
Usually, RAMQ members who have received a card renewal notice have to go to either a local health care service centre (CLSC) or SAAQ office with their signed paperwork, requisite IDs and, in the case of a CLSC visit, a photograph.
But as lines lengthen and frustration swells at SAAQ offices amid a botched transition to a new online service platform, the Régie is temporarily allowing RAMQ cardholders to renew by mail by simply sending back their signed renewal paperwork.
They don't even need to send in a new photograph; the Régie says it will use the last photo on file.
The postal address is the following:
Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec
C. P. 6600, succ. Terminus
Québec (Québec) G1K 7T3
The Régie has not said how long this measure will last.
Other measures aimed at alleviating stress on the SAAQ network are set to last several months. They include a 90-day extension of license validity for drivers whose licenses were set to expire between March 9 and June 1, 2023, and an extension of foreign license validity until August 29.
Quebec is also extending the validity of temporary vehicle registration certificates (for example, a registration a driver would get from a dealer with the purchase of a new car) from 10 days to 60 days.
The new online SAAQ platform, once it actually works, is set to simplify some services for drivers, including license replacements and driving record reviews.
