Canada’s Medicare national medical insurance provides Canadian residents with free basic medical services, mainly including doctor’s outpatient services and hospital medical services. But Medicare coverage typically doesn’t cover medical services such as prescription drugs, dental, eyeglasses, ambulances, and many Canadians enroll in supplemental health insurance to help cover these extra costs.

This article details how Canadian residents can apply for Supplemental Health Insurance.

What is Supplemental Health Insurance?

Canada’s Medicare public health care system guarantees many basic medical services including doctors, hospital care, and medical tests. Some medical services are not covered by Medicare, such as prescription drugs and dental services. Many Canadians enroll in supplemental health insurance, which helps pay for medical expenses that Medicare does not reimburse.

Supplemental health insurance generally does not cover medical services covered by Medicare. You must be enrolled in Canada’s Medicare insurance before you can apply for supplemental health insurance.

Supplemental coverage covers dental, prescription drugs, rehabilitation, home care, ambulance, and other medical services outside of Medicare. In addition, supplementary insurance can also be used to pay for medical expenses not covered by Medicare, such as private hospital clinics, private/semi-private wards, physiotherapy, optometrists, etc.

Supplementary dental insurance usually covers general dental services such as dental check-ups, scaling, fillings, extractions, root canal treatment, and dental X-rays. Some insurances also reimburse medical expenses such as crowns and dentures.

After participating in supplemental medical insurance, the insurance company can reimburse most of the medical services covered by its insurance (usually around 80%), and you need to bear the rest. Each insurance company has different supplemental health insurance coverage and premiums, and you will need to compare different products to make your choice.

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How do I find out about supplemental medical insurance plans and premiums?

You can get a free premium quote on the RATESDOTCA website and compare the price and coverage of supplemental health insurance plans offered by different insurance companies in Canada.