TRAVEL INSURANCE Ian Callaway
Alert re. Travel Insurance ©iStockphoto.com/Relentless_one
Q
I live in the Province of XXXX and my friend lives in the Territory of YYYY. We are planning a North American Adventure Tour and wanted to know how long we can be away before losing our government medical-insurance coverage? We heard it was 6 months away from Canada and no longer than 6 months in the USA.
A
Under the Canada Health Act, the 13 provincial and territorial health-care insurance plans must meet five core standards: Accessibility; Comprehensiveness; Portability; Public Administration; and Universality.
While Accessibility and Universality require all eligible Canadian residents reasonable access to medically necessary services, “medically necessary
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
12 Months Yukon Territory**
365 Days
Nunavutu
153 Days
183 Days
Quebecu
6 Months British Columbiau
212 Days to 1st Year
New Brunswick**
183 Days
183 Days
Nova Scotiau
Northwest Territoryu
Alberta**
7 Months Saskatchewanu
6 Months minus 1 Day Prince Edward Islandu
7 Months Manitobau
12 Months 1st Year then 8 Months thereafter
212 Days
Ontario**
NOTES May require maintenance of Permanent Residence. Advance Notification Requirements vary from 30 to 90 days. Individual considerations for age, education, health, and/or work Some jurisdictions require consecutive days. Others are Cumulative.
services” are not defined under the Canada Health Act—each province or territory prescribes what constitutes their comprehensiveness. There are five overlapping parts to your question. BC Notaries Association
Newfoundland and Labradoru TIME FRAME MEASURES u Calendar
Year
**12-Month Period
1. How Long Can I Be Away? Many incorrectly assume that the maximum time someone can be away is “6 months.” The correct answer, however, is “it depends.” It is a smorgasbord across Canada’s 13 medical-plan jurisdictions applying 8 different out-of-jurisdiction coverage Volume 28 Number 2 Summer 2019
