What you should know about OHIP Coverage ending for Out-of-Country care on Jan 1, 2020

On January 1, 2020, Ontario’s Ministry of Health terminated its “Out Of Country” (OOC) coverage for residents. What does this mean for you?

If you travel outside of Canada, you’ll need travel insurance to cover you in case of unexpected medical emergencies or accidents.

• Canadians often assume that our provincial health care has us covered, but these plans usually only cover a tiny fraction of these medical bills! For Ontario residents, that percentage decreased to 0% on January 1, 2020.
• If you don’t already have private travel insurance, an employee group health plan, or credit card coverage, you’ll need to buy travel insurance to ensure you’re taken care of.
• This is especially important if you’re a mature traveller with a pre-existing condition, or an adventurer travelling to the extreme!

Travel within Canada is still covered by OHIP.

If you travel outside of Ontario and have a medical emergency within Canada, OHIP must still cover your most basic medical expenses; that’s because the Canadian Health Care Act defines the health care policy of the country, listing the criteria for provinces to receive funding. Portability is one of its 5 principles stipulating provinces and territories must extend medically necessary medical coverage to their residents during temporary absences. The provinces share bilateral agreements that allow Canadians to travel away from their home province and retain their public health care insurance coverage.

Originally posted by our partner, TuGo