- Supplemental Medical Insurance -
Private Health Insurance in Canada

Private or supplemental medical insurance coverage may be purchased through private health insurance carriers in most provinces in Canada.

Although universal health insurance for all individuals is guaranteed under the Canada Health Act, all health care goods and services are not necessarily provided free of charge.

Private health insurance plans are available and many Canadians buy dental health insurance, long term health insurance, and even prescription drug plans that partially cover the cost of prescriptions.

Private Health Insurance

Private health insurance is available for services that are not insured under the universal health insurance plans provided in each province. These extended or supplemental health insurance plans will cover such things as:

• prescriptions - prescription drug plans are available to cover the cost of prescription drugs that may be needed as part of your personal health care. Sometimes these plans have certain restrictions or lifetime caps on the dollar amount that will be paid.


• chiropractic and/or naturopathic care - the costs of these services are sometimes included in supplemental medical insurance plans but usually they are only partially paid and not completely re-imbursed.


• physiotherapy - physiotherapy services provided in a hospital are generally provided as part of the universal health care insurance but not as part of outpatient treatments so private insurance plans will include these services.

There is a large variation in these types of private insurance plans offerred in Canada.

Other services not covered under the universal health insurance provided to all individuals in Canada might be covered under private health insurance plans and include things such as:

• massage therapy
• acupuncture
• orthotics
• vision care, glasses, and contact lenses
• private nursing care if ordered by a doctor
• cost of private or semi-private hospital rooms

Dental health insurance can also be purchased through a private health insurance plan.

These supplemental medical insurance plans are highly variable in their coverage and premiums are often fully or partially paid by the employer as a benefit negotiated through a labor union agreement.

Supplemental health insurance benefits are not universally applied to all individuals in Canada and must be purchased privately.

Private health insurance is also purchased by individuals waiting to satisfy residency requirments to become eligbile for the universal health insurance offered in each province, and of course many people purchase travel medical insurance and longterm care insurance and other such coverage under private health insurance plans.