The cost of health insurance is determined by a number of factors such as the amount of coverage you need and your current personal health. Find out below just how much a personal health insurance policy could cost you.
In Canada, we are fortunate enough to have a publicly-funded health care system. With both the federal and provincial governments contributing, our universal health care system ensures that individuals can access the medical assistance they need. However, even with the universal health care system in place, it’s still important to have supplemental health insurance.
advertisementUnder the Canada Health Act , provinces and territories must provide health insurance plans that meet certain criteria and conditions. This ensures that individuals in Canada are able to access necessary medical services.
Each province or territory determines which services are considered medically necessary for insurance purposes. This is done by extensive consultation with physician colleges and groups. If a service is deemed not medically required, the provincial or territorial health insurance plan doesn’t need to cover it.
This is where supplemental health insurance comes in. Supplemental or private health insurance is purchased individually or provided through your place of employment. These plans cover additional services and fees, thereby reducing your costs. Some insurance providers will require you to pay the fee for services and insured items upfront, then reimburse you while others will cover the cost directly.
You may be asking yourself, what does health insurance cover in Canada? The public system provides essential and emergency services – here are some facts about the system.
Canada’s universal health care system:
As you can see, there are some gaps in the public insurance system. While some of these might be filled in by provincial or territorial insurance, others will require you to have additional, private insurance.
Private health insurance plans offer different types of coverage. Some may require you to have a physical performed before insuring you, and some may include or exclude certain things. It’s important to consider what your requirements are and what you might need in the future when looking at private health insurance.
Typically, all or part of the following costs are covered by private health insurance:
Employers may provide health insurance in their benefits package. You should speak with them about what is and what isn’t provided before acquiring additional private insurance.
As with any insurance, there are a number of factors that influence your health insurance costs. Not only does your current health status, and any underlying conditions you may have, impact your premiums, but your age, your gender, your earnings, where you live, and how much additional coverage you want all impact the price.
In order to get an accurate idea of the cost of health insurance, you should speak to an insurance provider directly or consult an insurance broker . To give you a picture of what to expect, however, you can consider the following table, outlining health insurance premiums for a potential policyholder.
Canada health insurance cost
