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Jumat, 20 Februari 2009

What You Should Know About Personal Health Insurance in Canada

By Shannon Hutcheson

In Canada, you'll find that if you are a resident or citizen, you qualify for government sponsored health care. There are certain things that can take too long, or be too expensive, if you are waiting for your provincial health plan to kick in or if you aren't a proper resident. For anyone who has recently moved to a new province, it can also take up to 3 months to get established and get your health benefits transferred over. In the meantime, you may have to pay for a simple visit to the doctor's office.

Extra health insurance is a good idea when most Canadian health care government sponsored programs don't cover "extras" such as massage therapy, chiropractic, and orthopedics. Homeopathic treatments and visits are not covered either - including most "alternative medicine" options.

Why You Need Extra Health Insurance

There are a number of common health issues that simply aren't covered by standard provincial health plans. Rather than pay full price for these, it is almost always cheaper to opt for a monthly plan where you can pay a certain amount in order to get coverage for things not included in regular Canadian health insurance.

Some of the things that may not be included in your provincial plan include the following:

- Dental work beyond basic cleaning
- Chiropractic care
- Naturalpath or Homeopathic visits
- Podiatrist and Orthotics

Prescription drugs can become very expensive in Canada if your Provincial Health Care Plan has a low limit and your prescription isn't on the list of pharmaceuticals covered. For this reason alone, many people opt for extra health insurance to make sure they can afford these additional expenses.

How It Works

Using personal Canadian health insurance isn't that complicated. It works like any other insurance plan. You'll be paying a monthly fee for the coverage and if or when you need it, you'll be responsible for paying a deductible, the first part of the cost. For example, if you have a deductible of $100, you'll be paying that amount and any further expenses will be taken care of by the insurance company.

Where to Find Canadian Health Insurance

If you are looking to create a more comprehensive health care plan, you'll need to find an insurance company that offers what you need for a good price. This means knowing what you actually need included. There's no reason to pay more than necessary if you don't require certain things to be covered, so look for a plan that suits you.

There are quite a few insurance companies that can help you out with good policies and that can make it tough to pick just one. A good way to go, in this case, is with a website that offers comparisons of several insurance providers.

You'll be able to see at a glance exactly which services are suitable for you, according to price and what they cover. At the very least, you'll want to include a higher prescription limit and eye care. However it's important to note that there are other options, as well. For example, you might want to look at the "extras," such as massage therapy and chiropractic care which isn't covered in Provincial health care programs .

Canadian health insurance provided by the government doesn't always give you what you need, so you may want to consider getting your own personal insurance. This will afford the coverage needed and can be far less costly than later having to pay out of pocket for health care that isn't covered.

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