Canada Health Insurance

Coverage for health care in Canada varies from province to province. Each province extends some form of health care to its residents, but every provincial plan’s coverage and expense differs.

Qualifying for Coverage

The Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan provides health services to individuals who are legal residents of Canada, living in Alberta for 183 days in a 12 month period, and who do not claim health benefits from another province.

After meeting those criterions, one can receive coverage for the following services:

• Physician care from a doctor enrolled with MSP
• Maternity care
• Eye examinations when medically required
• Diagnostic services including lab work and x-rays
• Dental and oral surgery when medically required

Unlike the Toronto health insurance plan, the Calgary health insurance plan does not cover health aids such as eyeglasses or hearing aids. Sadly, for most of the population, the other major expense that is not covered is prescription drugs. However, some segments of the population are covered for prescriptions: people on income support, the permanently disabled, children of low income families and those in the last three months of palliative care. To date, there are no instructions on their website explaining how to receive coverage for prescription drugs.

The Alberta health plan does not cover health tests for employment, nor does it cover preventative and screening tests. And, like the other provinces, elective surgery is considered the patient’s expense.

The province of Alberta has a staff of over 90,000 medical professionals to assist its residents. It also has 111 hospitals and health centres, plus 7 urgent care centres. The health centres are located throughout the province so you are never far from medical treatment.

Differences between Provincial Health Systems
Alberta seems to be one of the most active provinces in Canada in handling health care. They are constantly increasing their treatments and expanding their field of research. The province seems to have an action plan for everything - from prenatal syphilis to mental health. Their website has the most recent updates on topical issues such as the H1N1 virus. They also provide newsletters on health matters and reports on patient feedback. When comparing provincial health plans, studies show that Alberta is the most plugged in with regard to health issues, and the most communicative with the public.

One of the biggest advantages of the Calgary health insurance plan is the importance they put on addiction treatment. This problem seems largely unaddressed in the health systems of the other provinces. Another of Alberta’s great innovations, and one that is actively advertised, is a telephone care service called Healthlink. Launched in 2003, Healthlink provides medical guidance from a registered nurse 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

By keeping in touch with Alberta residents, keeping them informed by web, telephone and through their numerous clinics around the province, the Calgary health insurance system is one of the best in the country.

Read more about Alberta Health Insurance.