Sorting Out Health Cards and Insurance in Canada

There are many similarities between the Canadian National Health System and our own in the UK – but also more than enough differences to make things complicated for newly arrived expatriates from Britain!

The good news is that a great deal of healthcare is free in Canada, which means that Brits don’t have to face the prospect of extortionate health insurance costs like they do if they move to live and work in America for example.

The bad news is that supplementary health insurance cover is highly recommended for a number of reasons that we will details in this article, which is all about sorting our health cards and insurance in Canada.

The NHS in Canada is called Medicare, it’s a state funded scheme for which all Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible.  However, one only becomes eligible as a newly arrived expatriate after about three months – eligibility wait times can differ from province to province so do check.  During your wait time you will need to have a level of private health insurance coverage – and there are firms that are prepared to insure you for short periods of time, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has more information.

To receive cover under Medicare you have to apply to your provincial health agency.  If you’re moving to live in Canada and you’ve already got a job lined up, chances are your employer will sort out your application – but do check with the personnel department to ensure an application has been submitted and that it covers you and your entire family.  In some provinces basic care is 100% subsidised and free, in others you do have to make a monthly contribution.  Again, if you’re working this will be deducted from your pay packet.  It is not a high charge in relative terms.

If you’re not working, or you’re self-employed, retired or your employer isn’t sorting out your application, then make sure you apply as soon after arriving in Canada as you can.  If you get your application in within the first month, you should receive your medical card by the end of the three-month non-eligibility time.  Each province runs its own Medicare insurance scheme, and so there is no one central body to apply to for a card and cover.  The best advice is to go online and track down the health insurance plan department of your province’s government.  Alternatively you can visit your local council or government offices and find out about the relevant department through them.  The advantage with conducting this search online is that you can usually download an application form.

The application process for Medicare health insurance also differs between provinces, but basically you will need to provide proof of ID, residency status and address when applying.  When you have been processed and approved you will receive your medical card and your unique health insurance number, and you need to have your card with you whenever you go for any medical check up.  If you forget it you may be asked to pay for the treatment you receive and then apply to have it paid back.

Just as in the UK, the national health scheme in Canada only covers you for a certain amount of services.  So, visits to your GP are covered, as is emergency hospital treatment for example, essential treatment and operations are also paid for in full – but things like ambulance services, cosmetic surgery, dentistry, prescriptions and eyesight tests and glasses are not covered.  Also, and this is very strange for British expats living in Canada, your Medicare will only cover you in the province in which you live.  It is not actually a ‘national’ scheme in the true sense of the term.  I.e., if you live in Quebec the Regie de l’Assurance Maladie du Quebec will not cover you if you go on holiday to Toronto and fall over and break your leg!  Nor will the Ontario Health Insurance Plan pay out if you go skiing on Mt. Tremblant in Quebec and fall ill.

This is quite something to get your head around!  Because basically if you go out of your particular province, you will need to take out private medical insurance!  What a lot of Canadians do is couple supplementary cover for things such as dentistry and prescriptions, private rooms and ambulance services with a truly national level of private health insurance.  The premiums for such cover are far lower than if you had to pay in full for all medical services that you could require on an ongoing basis.  Some employers offer supplementary insurance as part of their remuneration benefits though, so do look into this before you go and find a provider to give you private cover.

Otherwise, things in Canada work in much the same way as they do in the UK.  For example, you have a family doctor to whom you go for all ailments except dire emergencies!  This doctor then treats you or refers you on.  To find a doctor you may have to contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons to see which practices in your area are taking on new patients – or you could just take a recommendation from a friend or neighbour, or go and visit local doctors’ offices and ask whether they will take on you and your family.

Finally, the other similarity between Canadian national health care services and Britain’s is the fact that wait times can be long for non-critical treatment, care and operations.  However, the government in Canada is working to produce targets for wait times that all provinces should work to, and these target times should be in place by 2010.

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