charmainefrances said:
hello po! actually, I used that 3 month extension already... my regular work permit has expired June 2011, so yes, I asked for extension for alb. healthcard and it ended Sept. 2011..and they won't extend it again unless I have a regular work permit and now, they are saying that it would take 18-24 months now before a descision will be made, so meaning to say, I will wait for 18-24 months without a alb. healthcard.????? as I have said, I am not hoping to get sick but the question here is WHAT IF? wahhhhhhhhh!!!!
Hi again Charmainefrances,
Although you may not qualify for Provincial health benefits right at this moment, you could certainly purchase the kind of private health insurance that is available to visitors, tourists, and transients. This type of coverage is available to people not already insured, or that are not eligible for benefits under a Canadian government health insurance plan, which is pretty much your case.
Also, this type of insurance is commonly sold under the label of "Travel Medical Insurance", or other similar names, which you can purchase from almost all major companies offering complementary insurance products to provincial health plans. Since you are in AB, you may want to get in touch with, say, a couple of insurance brokers from your province who may be able to assist you in the decision making process of selecting an adequate plan. Brokers usually sell various types of products from multiple companies which, as a customer, gives you the great advantage of being able to choose, from an array of options, the one that may best fit your personal needs and budget (oh, dear, I sound like a sales person
)
Furthermore, you may also want to visit sites such as www.kanetix.ca/travel-visitors-to-canada, www.rbcinsurance.com/travelinsurance/visitors-canada-plans.html, www.arbetovinsurance.com/visitorstocanada, www.ab.bluecross.ca/travel/travel-visitors.html, etc. (This is what I googled to find the aforementioned links: ""Visitor to Canada health insurance")
S.
