Canadian Medical Coveage for Americans

We have travelled extensively in CA with no special insurance. Read your policy carefully. Our old BCBS of Florida covered Emergency care when traveling in CA. Yours may, or may not. The general advice is if someone is feeling ill, head for the nearest US border.

ed6713 wrote:
We have travelled extensively in CA with no special insurance. Read your policy carefully. Our old BCBS of Florida covered Emergency care when traveling in CA. Yours may, or may not. The general advice is if someone is feeling ill, head for the nearest US border.

Thanks-our policies do not cover care while in Canada.

Here is what BCBS of CO says about foreign travel

Go to the nearest health care facility. Call your doctor or us within 24 hours, or as soon as you can. When your care is done, you will need to pay the bill. (You may want to use a credit card. The credit card company will automatically transfer the foreign currency into American dollars for you.) Keep all your receipts.

When you get home, call us at the number on the back of your member ID card or stop by your employer's personnel office and ask for a claim form. Fill out the claim form and submit it with your receipts to our address on the form. (The amount submitted must be in American dollars). We will pay you back based on your health plan benefits.

While I haven't had to go for emergency care in Canada, I have friends that have.

It's really not a big deal, other then the Canadian's not understanding what "billing" means. By that I mean a hospital that seldom handles an American is going to have to do some research on procedures. It all comes down to the "single payer" system up north.

If your normal insurance co does not offer emergency care outside of your coverage area, you really need to get a new company.

n7bsn wrote:
While I haven't had to go for emergency care in Canada, I have friends that have.

It's really not a big deal, other then the Canadian's not understanding what "billing" means. By that I mean a hospital that seldom handles an American is going to have to do some research on procedures. It all comes down to the "single payer" system up north.

If your normal insurance co does not offer emergency care outside of your coverage area, you really need to get a new company.

Again-I appreciate the response but my insurance company doesn't cover Canada. And switching insurance policies isn't an option until next March.

GeoBlue has coverage but doesn't cover pre-existing conditions within 3 months.

You could have a look at; http://www.safevisit.ca

I don't know anything about them, just came across this site when looking for insurance.

I did a google of the question and came up with a page or more of information, including companies selling travel insurance. One example is http://www.vtcinsurance.ca/

I have no personal knowledge of this company so the standard disclaimers apply. LOL
The few times I have needed to see a doctor in Canada, I just paid up front and turned it in, to my insurance company when I got home. Medical care is good, but many of the clinics are not set up to bill anyone other than the Canadian Medicare program. One trip I developed a case of contact dermatitis from poison ivy, picked up on our ranch in Oklahoma, but didn't get to be a serious matter till we were back in Canada, headed home to Alaska.

I was quickly seen and given a prescription for the problem, but they first insisted I give them my Alaska Insurance card, which didn't exist. They told me it had to exist as I was from Yukon-Alaska, one of the Canadian territories. The doctor even believed this to be true. Finally I was able to semi-convince the office staff, that Alaska was not part of Canada. Finally they asked me what an office visit in Alaska would have cost, so I told them and wrote them a check for the amount. Stopped at a local pharmacy and got the prescription filled and was on my way north.

Now for anyone that has US Medicare as their primary coverage, as i do now, the rules are a bit different. Read up on it, as it speaks to being in a straight line of travel, from the Lower 48 to Alaska. If you cross in Montana and somehow end up in eastern Canada, on your way to Alaska, and get sick, it is normally not covered. If you get sick in Whitehorse and go to the hospital, then in many cases it is covered but you will probably have to pay upfront and turn in for reimbursement. Like road service contracts, make sure you understand your coverage before you need it, so you can follow the rules to protect yourself in the best manner possible.

RBC (the largest bank in Canada) has an insurance division that offers insurance for visitors to Canada, I haven't used it but they provide insurance services to other companies and organizations within Canada as well.

I have attached a link to one of their plans:

RBC Insurance link

On edit, I thought that I would make the following remarks:

If this insurance is similar to our Canadian out-of-country coverage, the insurance company will want to get you back to your own location so your insurance will start picking up the costs, even if it means an evac flight (which may be cheaper than the costs of a hospital stay), be sure that you have some RV repatriation plan as part of the insurance.

Our doctor visit costs are a lot cheaper (1/3 to 1/4 of a typical US doctor's visit cost) but hospital stays can be expensive, it's best to get some kind of insurance, choosing a deductible that allows you to pay "small" costs may reduce the costs of the insurance premiums, after all you want to avoid paying the costs of a hospital stay.

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Canada is broken into 13 provinces and territories and each have there own rules. Our neighbour found out recently that Ontario Health Insurance is not accepted across Canada. Stopped in a neighbouring province for a medical issue, cash or credit card upfront. They decided to drive the 8 to 10hrs back to Ontario in extreme discomfort. Just glad it was not a serious heart problem or accident.

Beverley and Ken