Amongst the many benefits Canada has to offer to immigrants, Canada's health care system is particularly remarkable. Not only it ranks among the world’s leading healthcare systems, it’s also publicly funded, ensuring that both Canadian citizens and permanent residents have access to quality health care.

This free and universal health care system is publicly funded. The provinces and territories are in charge of managing and providing the health care services, while adhering to the national standards specified in the Canada Health Act.

The Canada Health Act is the country’s legislation that states the regulations and standards that all provincial and territories must comply with to receive federal funding under the Canada Health Transfer. The five main standards established in the Canada Health Act are these:

Public administration: Which establishes that all the provincial and territorial programs need to be managed and supported by a public organization on a non-profit basis.

Comprehensiveness: Each province and territory must include all medical services deemed necessary within their own health plans, and the costs of these services must be covered by the public health care system.

Universality: A principle stating that all provincial and territorial programs must cover all Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Portability: Which determines that the provincial and territorial programs coverage extend beyond the resident’s location. For example, if a resident travels to another province or territory within Canada, his or her plan fully covers them, no matter the region they are.

Accessibility: Which establishes that, no matter the financial status of the resident or citizen, their access to health care is granted, especially for necessary medical services.

The responsibilities of the federal government in the Canadian health care system include establishing and overseeing the principles for the Canada Health Act system; offering financial assistance to provinces and territories; supporting health care services to particular groups, such as veterans, some refugees, serving members of the military, and First Nations people. The federal government is also in charge of supporting research, managing promotion, and educational campaigns, and supervising the prevention of diseases across the country.

What is Medicare?

Canada's universal healthcare system provides citizens and permanent residents with access to world-class healthcare services. Medicare is the name that is sometimes used to refer to the public health care system, which comprises many of the primary health services, such as hospital care, emergency services, and other medical services. No matter what their medical history is, or personal income, all Canadian citizens and permanent residents qualify for health care.

How to qualify for Canada's health care system?

To qualify for health care, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. In some cases, and depending on the territory or province they are, foreign workers and some international students, can apply to receive health care. However, if you are a tourist or travelling to Canada for a short period, you need to pay for your own medical expenses.

Getting access to Health Care Coverage in Canada

According to the Canada Health Act, all citizens of a province or territory are eligible to get health coverage. If you are an immigrant and have permanent resident status, you will receive your coverage after arriving in the country and registering for a provincial health card.

The provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador offer their permanent residents instant access to their health care programs. In other provinces and territories, they need to wait for at least three months and comply with the requirements established by each province before getting full access to the healthcare system. During that period, it is advisable to have private insurance.

After the health card is issued, you can use it if you need to see a doctor.  The health card includes an identification number that is used to access your personal medical records.

The Health Costs in Canada

Canadian healthcare system’s health expenses differ across its provinces and territories. Depending on the province you reside in, the programs have a slight variation that affects the costs. Demographic factors, like age, population, and area of residence, also affect the costs.

What costs are included in the Canadian Health Care System?

Even though Canada has free and universal healthcare for citizens and permanent residents, most Canadians also have additional private insurance. The reason behind this is that some services and costs are not covered by public health care, such as prescription drugs and medication.

Some benefits offered by a private insurance policy include getting a disability income, serious illness benefits, mental health treatment, travel insurance, home care and long-term care, optical care, speech therapy, physiotherapy, hearing aids, chiropractic, and dental care, among many others.

Everyone can buy additional insurance to cover services not provided by the public system. These services include vision care, dental care, prescription drugs, ambulance services, and independent living (home care).

What is CANADA’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 

Canada's healthcare system is a publicly-funded healthcare system that is managed and administered on a provincial and territorial basis. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act, which sets out the criteria and conditions with which provincial/territorial health insurance plans must comply if they wish to receive their full transfer payments from the federal government.

Under the system, all Canadian citizens and permanent residents have access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without direct charges at the point of service. In addition, most provinces and territories provide additional services, such as coverage for prescription drugs and home care.

The system is largely funded by taxes. In most provinces, premiums are also collected to help fund the system. The federal government provides funds to the provinces and territories through transfer payments that are allocated based on several factors, including population size and healthcare costs.

The Canada Health Act also sets out a number of principles that guide the operation of the system. These include portability, which ensures that people are covered for medically necessary services when they move from one province or territory to another; comprehensiveness, which ensures that all medically necessary services are covered; universality, which ensures that everyone is eligible for coverage; and public administration, which requires that the system be administered on a non-profit basis.