Does the Ontario Health Insurance Plan provide enough insurance to the traveler?

Question

OHIP say they insure you when you are traveling. Is the insurance any good? Or do i need extra private travel insurance?

Answer 1

Definitely not.  The moment you step out of Ontario, ambulance services are NOT covered.  (even in Canada)  Those can range from hundreds of dollars to thousands and thousands if you are airlifted.  (why skiers dont get extra insurance is beyond me...)

Also, outside Canada OHIP only covers the medically necessary bills...up to what they would normally pay here in Ontario.  Any difference between what you are charged is what your extra insurance will pay.

What will happen is, you say you are in an accident in the USA.  You get taken to the hospital.  The hospital will send you a bill.  (and you likely will need to be treated again when you have a heart attack from the $$ it costs)  The extra insurance company will have you send your bill/receipts from the hospital to OHIP.  You will fill out an "Out of Country" form from OHIP and submit everything to OHIP.  The insurance company will see what OHIP paid, and what they didn't.  Then they will determine what they will pay the hospital for.

Not all extra insurance policies are equal...make sure you know amounts, if they need you to call them first before you go to a hospital etc.

If you travel a lot, some places have yearly coverage amounts, or some have weekly/daily.  CAA, credit cards are good places to start.  When I recently went on a short trip to the USA, it worked out to $6/day.  Well worth it.

Answer 2

OHIP isn't designed to cover anything other than minor emargency treatment outside Canada. The program only pays what the treatment would cost in Canada. [You can expect tp pay up to $35 000 US for a weekend in a US emergency room if you are unlucky.]

You can buy more insurance quite cheaply. We have an annual insurance fron Blue Cross that is valid world wide.