Canada Health Insurance

How to Compare Insurance Plans

This page is intended to provide individuals in Canada with general information pertaining to how to compare health insurance plans and costs.

Before settling on a health insurance plan, you should compare and contrast a benefits summary or an outline of coverage. This should include the description of policy benefits, exclusions, and provisions. These details will help you better understand the insurance policies of the plan and will make it easier for you to compare different policies.

Use the following Health Insurance Checklist as a guideline when choosing and comparing health insurance plans. Check for the following covered medical services:

Inpatient hospital services
Outpatient surgery
In-hospital physician visits
Medical tests and X-rays
Prescription drugs
Mental health care
Home health care visits
Rehabilitation facility care
Physical therapy
Speech therapy
Hospice care
Maternity care
Chiropractic treatment
Preventive care and checkups
Dental care

You can also ask each company the following questions to make sure that you are getting the best coverage possible:

Are there any medical service limits, exclusions, or pre-existing conditions that will affect you or your family?
What types of utilization review, pre authorization, or certification procedures are included?
How much is the premium?
How much is the annual deductible per person and per family?
What co-insurance or co-payments apply?