The last thing that any newcomer or visitor to Canada needs is to worry about medical expenses as a result of health issues or accidents. This puts an unnecessary burden and stress on an already-complicated transition period for newcomers especially, so knowing they’re covered can be one less thing to worry about.
Canadian citizens and residents have free access to public healthcare, but this coverage doesn’t extend to newcomers waiting for their public healthcare access to activate or visitors to Canada. To access the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), newcomers may have to wait up to three months after they arrive in Ontario, leaving them vulnerable during this waiting period.
There are several private insurers that offer insurance for shorter periods of time. Finding private health insurance should be an essential step in the planning process before coming to Canada so that coverage is effective by the arrival date.
Ontario Blue Cross’ travel insurance plans for visitors and newcomers to Canada provide coverage for emergency medical care costs across all Canadian provinces, including side trips to the US.
