By Brian Lockhart | New Tecumseth Times
Now that the number of Canadians crossing the border for travel has declined, many people are choosing to travel across Canada for a vacation.
If you are travelling to another province, you will want to maintain your healthcare coverage when you are on the road.
Before you leave home, you should make sure your health card is valid. This means it is not expired and has your correct personal information and your correct current address that is on file with ServiceOntario.
When you show your valid Ontario health card in another Canadian province or territory, you will be covered for some of the same services you’re covered for in Ontario.
This includes physician services such as a visit to a walk-in clinic and services provided in a public hospital, such as emergency, diagnostic, or laboratory services.
Any service or treatment you receive in another Canadian province or territory must be medically necessary for it to be covered by OHIP.
Services that are not covered by OHIP in another Canadian province or territory include services not covered in Ontario, ambulance services, prescription drugs and other drugs given outside of a hospital, and home care services.
Also not covered are fees charged by private hospitals or facilities, diagnostic or laboratory services outside of a public hospital, and long-term care or residential services. f you are going to visit, work, or study in another Canadian province or territory for more than seven out of 12 months, you need to confirm your coverage before you leave.
If your job requires frequent travel to other parts of Canada, your OHIP coverage will continue if you qualify as a mobile worker.
To qualify as a mobile worker, bring proof to the nearest ServiceOntario centre that shows you travel frequently for more than 212 days in any 12-month period for work.
Proof includes a letter from your employer. For students, to keep their OHIP coverage while studying full-time in another province or territory in Canada, they must bring proof to the nearest ServiceOntario centre. Students must have lived in Ontario for at least five months of the 2 month period immediately before leaving.
You must provide proof that you are enrolled in full-time academic studies in Canada.
