In Canada health insurance is covered by our provincial governments. However, this insurance only covers you for doctor's visits, hospital treatments/surgery, and that sort of thing. Coverages vary a bit from province to province but I'm aware of no substantial differences. Premiums for coverage also vary from province to province: in Ontario it's added to our income tax.Pekoepup wrote:Wow, thanks for all the responses, offers for help and suggestions. I must say that I am quite confused by "health insurance" coverage in Canada. I don't think it was this complicated when I lived in B.C.. growing up. I thought socialized medicine meant everyone would be on a Provincial health plan with the same coverage so I am not understanding Sunlife's role.
Provincial health insurance does NOT cover you for dental care, drugs (except as administered while in hospital), eye care, and things such as cpap, orthotics, eye exams, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, etc etc. Some of us have insurance that covers these items through our employers (it's an employment benefit). These health benefit insurance plans vary from one employer to the next and depend on what coverages the employer has decided to pay for. SunLife is one such provider of this type of health care and dental insurance.
In Ontario, there also is an Assistive Devices Program which is a government insurance that will pay for specified medical devices such as cpap, wheelchairs, and a host of other hardware that is needed for ongoing healthcare. Typically ADP only pays for upfront costs and not for ongoing operational costs. There are strict limitations on what is covered and payments are just a fraction of the total billed costs. (For cpap it's a total of $750, more for apap, bipap, etc). I think some other provinces have similar programs (e.g. Manitoba) but most do not.