Canada Medical Insurance
The Canadian healthcare system is primarily operated by the government and treatment is provided to Canadian citizens and residents with a 70% subsidy attached. This means that the Canadian government will typically pay 70% of all medical costs for individuals that qualify for the public medical system. Despite the considerable variations of healthcare provision across the various Canadian provinces and territories, it is standard that the Canadian public health insurance scheme will pay for medically necessary treatment, allowing the Canadian public easy and reliable access to some of the highest quality medical care in the world.
Despite the extremely high quality of care attributed to the public healthcare system in Canada, there are some major concerns, mainly pertaining to treatment waiting times and the number of trained doctors and nurses providing treatment. In some studies it was reported that approximately 57% of Canadians wait more than 4 weeks to see a specialist concerning various treatments, with the highest waiting times coming from patients who require orthopedic surgery or those individuals suffering from Cancer.
These waiting times have been attributed to a lack of sufficiently qualified medical practitioners. The reason for this shortage has mainly been cited as the inability of doctors in the Canadian healthcare service to make an income comparable to their counterparts in the USA, something that has seen almost one out of every nine Canadian doctors relocate to America. In addition to this there has been major issue with certain provinces creating salary structures in a closed market situation, leading to many doctors complaining that their income has dropped radically.
Despite this, however, the Canadian healthcare system has a worldwide reputation of being able to provide extremely high quality care and treatment. It is this reputation, in conjunction with the nation's high standard of living that has seen immigration levels remain consistently high. It is important to note, however, that newly arrived expatriates or immigrants are not entitled to treatment under the Canadian Healthcare act until they have been in the country for a period of not less than 3 months. This can cause some concern for these non-eligible individuals as out-of-pocket payment for treatment in Canada can be extremely expensive. In addition to this many Canadians who are attempting to relocate overseas are unaware that their national health insurance scheme will not continue to cover them once they leave the country, and that there will normally be a waiting period for the resumption of coverage once they return.
Due to this, and in conjunction with the long waiting times associated with treatments, it is estimated that approximately 65% of all Canadians are covered by some form of private health insurance. This ensures that they are able to seek alternative treatment routes in the event that the waiting periods are too long, and ensures that they will have coverage outside of the country in the event that they need it. We can provide international health insurance plans to newly arrived foreign nationals in Canada that will afford you with high quality coverage around the world. Plans that we can offer will always have a number of benefits attached to the coverage which can include, out-patient and maternity treatment, specialist consultations, alternative therapies, dental protection, and emergency evacuation coverage.
These Canada health insurance plans are typically guaranteed renewable for life and globally portable, meaning that you will always be assured of the coverage you need. This makes these types of plan perfect for foreign nationals relocating to Canada, or Canadian nationals located around the world.
Canada occupies and extremely large area, and due to the prevalence of tourists and adventurers for participating in outdoor, or extreme sports, activities the danger risk is very real. The standard of healthcare in Canada is of an extremely high standard, and outside of the public medical system there are many excellent private hospitals and clinics.
However it is important to note that visitors or newly arrived expatriates are not eligible to receive coverage under the national healthcare plan, and must obtain some form of comprehensive insurance coverage.
