Healthcare in Canada


The quality of hospitals, medical facilities and doctors in Canada is very good but there is dissatisfaction with the service of the provincial healthcare system under the umbrella name Medicare. Expats will only qualify for Medicare if they are residents of Canada. When expats are applying for Canadian residency there is a three month waiting period before they are eligible for Medicare. This will cover essential operations and treatment, although waits are long. Emergency room waits are also very long. Expats are advised to have travel health insurance and make sure coverage includes medical attention in Canada. Private clinics can cover non-essential operations but are legally barred from operating on anything more serious. Employers usually provide insurance to cover prescription medicines and dental care which is not covered by Medicare. There is a lack of general practitioners and many won’t take new patients and waits are long to visit those who will. Frustratingly, specialists demand a referral from a general practitioner.

London Health Sciences Centre

800 Commissioners Road East
London, Ontario N6A 5W9
Tel.: 519-685-8500
 
Vancouver General Hospital
855 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9
Tel
: 604.875.4111

Search Expat Arrivals

Become our local expat expert for your city!

Expat Arrivals is looking for contributors to make this the ultimate guide for international expats.
If you are an established expat who could make time to spend a few hours a month writing useful information for expats in your city and answering forum questions from new and prospective expats, please contact us.
As our local expert you can have your profile showing on each page you publish, earn advertising revenue on that content, and promote your website or blog if you have one.