About Supplemental Health Insurance

Every Canadian citizen has access to health care from Provincial and Federal Government health care programs, but the coverage for services is limited. There are certain types of services that are not included in a government plan and not all employer plans provide the coverage that meets every employee’s needs. In such situations, where extra or more coverage is needed by an individual, many Canadians will purchase supplemental coverage to ensure financial protection for certain health services. To understand how supplemental coverage works, the following is a guide of supplemental health insurance.

Why supplemental health insurance from a private health insurance company?

Because provincial/federal health care programs and many employer programs do not provide coverage for every type of health care service, acquiring supplemental coverage will ensure complete protection. For instance, vision and dental coverage are type types of coverage that may not be offered. Private health insurance companies offer such plans at very affordable rates. You can actually customize your plan by choosing the type of coverage you need, whether it is individual or family.

Prescription drug costs are normally covered for a specified percentage of the costs. The amount will depend on the province program or the employer’s health plan. If you find that the coverage is not enough, you can buy supplemental insurance to help reduce the costs of prescriptions. Also, there are medical specialists and special medical equipment that may not be covered under provincial or employer plans. You can get a health insurance plan from a private provider that includes specialist and specific medical equipment coverage.

What to look for in a health insurance plan

Before choosing a plan from a private health insurance provider, you should determine what your current insurance covers so you decide what additional coverage you need. As well, make sure you check out any exclusions in your current policy which will tell you what is not covered. The goal should be getting coverage that will offset high cost health care services.

Supplemental health plan coverage details

Generally, the majority of supplemental health insurance plans will pay anywhere from 40% to 80% of the cost of healthcare service needs such as vision, dental, hearing aids, psychologists, certain medical equipment, chiropractors, podiatrists, and even health care if traveling out of the country. When looking at health plans, find out about such issues as: family coverage that include children costs, individual coverage costs, limitations, what the plan covers, coverage regarding emergencies, pre-existing condition issues, coverage for specialists, how a claim is paid out and how much is paid out, the amount of the deductible, monthly cost of the plan, type of prescription drug coverage, does missing a payment mean cancellation of the policy?, does the plan cover dental and vision?, etc.

It may seem like choosing a private health plan is a tedious task, however, it is definitely an important task as you want to make sure you have enough of the right type of coverage that meets your current and future health care needs. Health insurance should be viewed as an investment and not an expense.