Over 24 million people in Canada choose private healthcare insurance.
This offers excellent care and coverage that the Medicare system won't provide. For example, health insurance covers $10.7 billion worth of prescription drug charges.
So if you're looking into getting private coverage yourself, you're in good company! But there are currently 133 health insurance providers in Canada. So finding the best health insurance deals can feel like a huge task.
To find the best health insurance deals, you need all the help you can get. You need to know what you're looking for and how to find it.
Luckily, we're here to help. Read on to find out everything you need to know about finding Canadian health insurance in 2022. And find out our Top 5 Health Insurance providers.
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What Does Canadian Health Insurance Cover?
Canadian health insurance deals help to protect you from the cost of health care.
You don't want to find yourself coming out of the hospital only to receive a huge bill, do you? Especially not if you need to focus on your recovery.
By paying a health insurance premium you can avoid this. Your cover will vary depending on your insurance plan. And this will also affect the cost of your premium.
Most health insurance plans help you cover the cost of:
- Hospital stays
- Doctors visits
- Prescriptions
- Preventative care
- Rehabilitation
The Canadian Healthcare system doesn't always cover the whole cost of these. Or, if you want to use private healthcare, then the Healthcare system won't cover any of your costs.
You can find out more about the basics of Canadian health insurance here!
Why Do You Need Health Insurance?
There are two types of healthcare in Canada: public and private. Health insurance can help you with both of them.
The Canada Health Act of 1984 put plans in place for universal health care. But unfortunately, the system isn't totally universal. For example, public funding doesn't cover the following:
- Sex reassignment treatments and surgeries
- Physiotherapy, massage therapy, and occupational therapy
- Mental health care
- Oral health
- Foot care (or podiatry)
This means anyone needing support for these will need private coverage. Or it could help you cover other costs of healthcare that isn't publicly funded.
And some people prefer to use private health care because of the level of care available. In fact, nearly 30% of Canadians use private health care over public.
What to Look For in Health Insurance
When searching for the best Canadian insurance deals, you need to know what you want from it.
Some of this will depend on the type of care you need. For example, if you know you suffer from chronic pain then you'll need a plan that covers massage therapy. Or if you require a lot of medication then you'll want one that covers your prescription costs.
Your health insurance coverage might also depend on what area of Canada you're in. For example, if you live in Ontario, you'll need health insurance that covers Ontario.
If you travel abroad a lot then public health insurance won't cover you. Your private package will also need to specifically cover international health care costs.
Finally, you need to decide how long you need health insurance for. This might depend on several factors.
For example, if you're waiting to start a new job with insurance benefits, you might need insurance to cover you for a short period. A lot of insurance packages last at least one year.
You also need to get familiar with the different types of health insurance available.
Different Types of Health Insurance in Canada
There are several different types of health insurance available. Different health insurance deals will offer you different ones.
Guaranteed Health Insurance will cover you without a medical examination. This is usually more expensive as the insurer doesn't know what they might have to cover you for.
It can be useful if you have a family history that might affect your insurance premium. Other things that affect this include smoking or a history of substance abuse.
Some insurance packages cover more than one person. This is great if you're looking for something to cover your whole family. It means you won't need to get separate health insurance for your kids.
Disability Insurance is specifically designed to cover anyone who needs assistive devices. This might include wheelchairs or respiratory equipment.
Public health care doesn't cover the full cost of these. In Ontario, for example, it only covers 75% of the cost. Private devices might be even more expensive.
So disability insurance is great if you know you're going to need these devices.
You might also have health insurance through work. This is one of the most common types of private health insurance coverages in Canada. So check out your benefits package before you start hunting for great deals!
Finally, if you're visiting Canada, you'll need Visitor Insurance. Public healthcare doesn't cover visitors to Canada from other countries.
Visitor insurance will cover any health costs you run up while here. You can also prepare by making sure your routine vaccines are up to date.
Do You Need Other Coverage?
It's important to remember that health insurance won't cover all your healthcare needs.
Dental insurance and vision insurance are great for covering routine expenses. They will save you money on your oral care and on regular eye care appointments.
If you're traveling abroad you might need specific travel health insurance. Or you might get a comprehensive package that covers your trip. This should cover your belongings and your health insurance while abroad.
How to Find the Best Health Insurance Deals?
Finding health insurance quotes can feel overwhelming. There are so many companies out there.
But creating a point of comparison can help. Try getting instant quotes for packages that provide similar cover.
For this, you'll need to provide accurate information to the insurance company. This includes height, weight, occupation, age, and medical history. They use this information to assess risk factors and create your quote.
If you provide the companies with the same information you can make an accurate comparison between them. For more information, check out our guide to instant health insurance quotes online.
You also might want to take into account customer reviews. These can tell you a lot about other people's experiences. And this means you can avoid nightmare experiences yourself!
Here are the five Best Private Health Insurance deals available for Canadians in 2022!
1. Manulife
Manulife is a well-known insurance provider is especially popular with employers and employees. This is because it is easily transferrable between companies.
It also offers integrated health and dental insurance on the Flexcare package. This has a mix and match style of plan.
You receive a basic package which covers certain services. These include prescription drug charges and dental care work. Then you can add additional services that you might need.
These might include vision care or hospital and travel insurance. You can also get an add on that extends your health insurance. This flexibility is great if your insurance needs change with time.
Manulife Popular Products:
- FlexCare Health & Dental plan
- FollowMe Health & Dental plan
- Association Health & Dental plan
2. Great-West Life (Now Canada Life)
This insurance company provides two styles of insurance packages. These are individual health insurance and family insurance packages.
Within these, there are three different insurance packages. These provide different levels of cover. The Core package is the cheapest, while the Core Elite package is the most expensive.
So you can save money if you think you're going to use your insurance for basic healthcare needs. You can also buy add-ons within these packages.
Great-West Life also offers a package called Plan Direct. This is specifically designed for people whose health insurance is about to end. For example, it is for anyone who is moving jobs or retiring.
This package accepts people without a medical exam. You are also eligible if you have any pre-existing conditions.
3. Ivari
This insurance is great if you're looking for specialty insurance.
Ivari provides critical care insurance packages. This means that it covers people who are in the most urgent medical need.
Critical care means that a condition is threatening your life. Often it threatens your vital organs. This is something that doctors must treat immediately.
If this happens then you want your financial position to be the last thing on your mind!
4. TD Insurance
Like Ivari, TD Insurance focuses on covering you for specific, life-threatening situations.
Rather than a comprehensive insurance plan, you get cover for situations in which you need urgent critical care or hospitalization. This means you have coverage for some of the most expensive areas of healthcare.
5. GMS Insurance
Group Medical Service, or GMS, offer various healthcare insurance packages. So they might be able to help you find the right one for you!
They offer a basic plan, which covers simple healthcare costs. This might include doctors' appointments or prescription drug charges. You can also adapt this by adding extra coverage for specific issues.
Other plans include more extensive care. The OmniPlan and ExtendaPlan both offer more extensive coverage.
Some other plans specifically cater to medical supplies, equipment, and devices. This could be a good one to look into if you require disability insurance!
The Bottom Line
Finding the best health insurance deals for you is all about knowing what you're looking for.
If you are going to use your health insurance a lot, then it might be worth the premium and more extensive coverage. Otherwise, you might prefer a more basic package at a cheaper rate. And don't forget to look into packages that provide specific healthcare cover.
To find the best health insurance deals around, get an instant online quote today!
