Health Benefits while in the process of Sponsorship...

[bscinto92]

I have a question that may be a little tough to answer... Recently, my father just got laid off from his job, and through his job he purchased medical insurance for me and himself. So now that the he doesnt work there anymore I no longer will have health insurance at the end of this month (which is coming around very quickly) and I need to have health insurance because I have a condition where I need to take a medication every day or else I can end up hospitalized or something can go really wrong in which case I'd have to leave my job and then we'd have no money at all. My husband works for Lowe's, which is an American company, and through Lowe's he gets health benefits through an insurance company called Manulife, which i also believe is an American company. Now, my question is.... Since I am an American citizen, can I be covered under my husbands benefits since we are married and he has benefits through and American insurance company? Or do the international borders and everything to do with me not having rights to Canadian health care yet etc. restrict me from getting that?

 

[Rob_TO]

I have a question that may be a little tough to answer... Recently, my father just got laid off from his job, and through his job he purchased medical insurance for me and himself. So now that the he doesnt work there anymore I no longer will have health insurance at the end of this month (which is coming around very quickly) and I need to have health insurance because I have a condition where I need to take a medication every day or else I can end up hospitalized or something can go really wrong in which case I'd have to leave my job and then we'd have no money at all. My husband works for Lowe's, which is an American company, and through Lowe's he gets health benefits through an insurance company called Manulife, which i also believe is an American company. Now, my question is.... Since I am an American citizen, can I be covered under my husbands benefits since we are married and he has benefits through and American insurance company? Or do the international borders and everything to do with me not having rights to Canadian health care yet etc. restrict me from getting that?

Even though your husband works for an American company, things like health benefits, group RRSPs, etc are usually handled by the Canadian division of that company since they are country-specific. So most likely he has group benefits through Manulife that are custom made for Canadian employees of Lowes. As such, most likely they would require you to be covered first under a provincial plan before they would add you to his benefits (which is typical of most employer group benefits). But you should call and ask Manulife to make sure.

Which province do you live in? In some provinces like Alberta, I believe residents just here on visitor status can be covered under their provincial health plan as long as they are married to a Canadian.

 

[bigleafbride]

You have to check with your husband's provider and company if they allow spouse to be added. I am also under Manulife and I can add my husband after he gets his Ontario Health Card. If you are in Canada and if you already have OHIP already, he can dd you for additional cost. My husband when he gets here have to wait for 3 months of the OHIP and for Manulife health insurance.

 

[rebecassss]

Even though your husband works for an American company, things like health benefits, group RRSPs, etc are usually handled by the Canadian division of that company since they are country-specific. So most likely he has group benefits through Manulife that are custom made for Canadian employees of Lowes. As such, most likely they would require you to be covered first under a provincial plan before they would add you to his benefits (which is typical of most employer group benefits). But you should call and ask Manulife to make sure.

Which province do you live in? In some provinces like Alberta, I believe residents just here on visitor status can be covered under their provincial health plan as long as they are married to a Canadian.

Back in the good old days when my husband got benefits, I was added to his plan even though I wasn't a resident - twice, I think one of them was actually provided by Manulife. I'm surprised to hear this isn't the norm. But yeah, the place to check this out would be Manulife. Good luck!

 

[Sweden]

Which province do you live in? In some provinces like Alberta, I believe residents just here on visitor status can be covered under their provincial health plan as long as they are married to a Canadian.

Also true for BC, even if it's slightly more difficult to get than in Alberta apparently!

 

[bscinto92]

I am moving to Ontario from the United States... I dont know what the rules are for Ontario, but can you apply for OHIP even if youre not a permanent resident yet? Or do you have to be staying in Canada? I hope I can get it before landing because 3 months of no health insurance after I land is not good for me since i need my medication : /

 

[Luckyman]

You have to get him to check the policy details. This can be done with the plan contact for Lowe's.

There are many plans that allow RRSP, RSP, Mutual funds, Life Insurance, Benefits, etc...

As an example, my wife is my beneficiary for everything even though she is in the Philippines and not a PR of Canada. However, Upon clarification with my Policy contact, she can receive benefit easily with a phone call to our HR manager (with special verification that we set up). Funds will then be transferred to her account.

This is also the same for our benefits package, however, what our Policy Provider is using as a "work around" is the policies travel benefits.

Basically they're just counting her as travelling to allow benefits for the time being.

Cheers!

 

[margobear96]

I am moving to Ontario from the United States... I dont know what the rules are for Ontario, but can you apply for OHIP even if youre not a permanent resident yet? Or do you have to be staying in Canada? I hope I can get it before landing because 3 months of no health insurance after I land is not good for me since i need my medication : /

I think Rob is correct. Though Lowe's is an American company, I'm sure your husband's legal employer is a Canadian subsidiary with health benefits administered through a Canadian HR department. In Canada you get basic health coverage from the province and extended coverage (for things like prescription drugs and dentistry) through your employer. Since you don't have OHIP (and won't until 3 months after landing -- Canadian CITIZENS moving back from abroad have to wait the 3 months in Ontario) highly unlikely you'd get extended coverage now. No harm asking though.

You should also look into COBRA through your dad's old employer (he should ask his old HR department). It'll cost a lot more than what he/you were paying before, but you probably don't want to be without coverage given your pre-existing health issues. Have you also looked into health insurance through YOUR employer? Also, not sure where Obamacare implementation is where you are, but look online to price individual health insurance that you can purchase. Worst comes to worst, pay for your medication out-of-pocket, especially for the 3 months before OHIP kicks in once you've landed. Prescription drug costs are a lot lower in Canada (provinces/fed govt? negotiates the prices and folks pay out-of-pocket unless they have extended coverage). Also, for more common drugs, you can buy them online from Canadian pharmacies.

Good luck.

 

[bigleafbride]

I am moving to Ontario from the United States... I dont know what the rules are for Ontario, but can you apply for OHIP even if youre not a permanent resident yet? Or do you have to be staying in Canada? I hope I can get it before landing because 3 months of no health insurance after I land is not good for me since i need my medication : /

No, you have to wait for three months to get your OHIP, then your husband can add you to his benefits. I have already asked this to Manulife for my husband. I am not sure what would b the case if you plan to avail the benefits from the US.

 

[Rob_TO]

Not sure if this is good advice or not, but your husband can TRY to add you to his benefits. In my case my employer is using Sunlife for group benefits. I added my common-law spouse to my benefits as soon as we became legally common-law. Neither my HR dept or Sunlife asked what status she was in Canada, nor if she was covered by provincial healthcare. We never had to provide any health card number or anything. During the year we made tons of claims with Sunlife, with no problems. It wasn't until she actually became PR, that while talking to a Sunlife customer service rep on the phone I found out you are supposed to be covered by OHIP to be eligible. Oops! Anyways she eventually got her health card, and everything turned out ok. But not sure if it's this easy with Manulife or how diligent they are with adding spouses/dependents to their plans.

If you can't get health care anywhere, then as another poster mentioned you can check the Canadian prices for your drugs and hopefully they are much cheaper vs the US. Also make sure to keep in mind that when you or your husband are doing Canadian taxes, you can claim medical expenses and prescription drugs as a tax credit. For Ontario i think you would get around 15-20% of the cost back, but this depends also on income and how much the medical expenses are.

 

[margobear96]

BTW, if you're not familiar with COBRA (assuming that's the case, since it's usually the first thing you look at when you're fired?), it's federally mandated that fired workers are given the option to continue health coverage under their current group plan (albeit at a higher cost since your employer will no longer be subsidizing you).

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/cobraemployee.html

 

[blueangel371115]

I'd like to chime in here (if I may ) my fiance has insurance through his work that also covers him in the US, my question is, if I'm not a pr yet, can I get on his insurance once we are married ? He is in quebec btw. Who should he ask to clarify? The company he works at is multinational.

 

[Rob_TO]

I'd like to chime in here (if I may ) my fiance has insurance through his work that also covers him in the US, my question is, if I'm not a pr yet, can I get on his insurance once we are married ? He is in quebec btw. Who should he ask to clarify? The company he works at is multinational.

Most employer group benefits companies (like Manulife, Sunlife etc) require that any dependents/spouses being added onto the plan, must first have provincial healthcare. If not, they are not supposed to be allowed to be added. To clarify you need to directly contact Manulife, Sunlife etc. However as i explained in my case, nobody asked at any point about this so we actually got coverage (though we weren't supposed to).

 

[blueangel371115]

I'll have him look it up. He has his booklet somewhere. His company may not bat an eye either. I'll look into it.

 

[blueangel371115]

If I can't does anyone know of /recommend any companies for the interim?