Visitors to Canada Insurance: The Emerging Importance of Telehealth Services

Many people visiting Canada are unaware of how the healthcare system is set up across Canada. As a result, they may struggle with where to go if they need to visit a doctor, how much a medical visit costs, and how to claim their medical visit on their insurance policy. 

Not to worry! We will go over all of the above aspects and examine why telehealth options are becoming increasingly important in Canada and how you can utilize telehealth services if needed during your visit to Canada.

Canada has different medical centres that people can visit when they need to speak to a doctor or receive treatment. 

The three main types of medical centres are: 

• Walk-in clinics

• Urgent care clinics

• Hospitals/emergency rooms (ER)

An emerging fourth option that people can use within Canada is a telehealth or online health centre. This method can help ease the number of people using other medical services and save you time (and money). 

Let’s compare the different options. We will highlight each treatment centre, including when to go there, the typical costs of each centre, and the average wait times if you need to visit a treatment centre. 

If you are experiencing a mild or minor health issue, it may be best to utilize a telehealth clinic. 

As you can see from the table above, a telehealth centre is significantly less costly and has a much lower wait time than all of the other medical centres you can access in Canada. If you are uninsured and do not have access to a GHIP in Canada, this is the quickest and cheapest way for you to get medical help for minor issues.

Even with insurance, it may be better for you to use a virtual health clinic instead of a physical health clinic. With insurance, if you have a small insurance claim you typically will pay for the health service and then apply for reimbursement. You may also wait up to 60 days after submitting all of your documents and claim details before receiving your money back. So, by attending a virtual medical centre, your wait time will be short and the amount you pay will be less costly than any physical health centre. 

Let’s look at some popular telehealth options within Canada.

There are multiple telehealth options that you can use in Canada, but some of the most popular online doctor options are: 

1. Rocket doctor

2. Telus Health MyCare

3. Tia Health

4. Maple

Let’s compare these options, covering how much a virtual visit costs, potential wait times, availability in each province, and availability of doctors.

At Telus MyCare, you pay a fee per appointment. 

It costs $70 per visit to access an online doctor’s visit without provincial health insurance. 

However, if you are looking for a specialist, like a counsellor, dietician or clinical psychologist, you can expect to pay more. 

Counsellors and dieticians cost $120 for a 50-minute session. If you need to see a clinical psychologist, it is $225 for a 50-minute initial visit.

Telus MyCare is a good option if you need to visit a doctor once, but could work out significantly more expensive than other options if you need more than one appointment.

At Tia Health you pay a one-time fee per appointment.

For people without access to GHIP, costs range from $40 up to $240 for one appointment. Here are some costs you could expect to pay for each service at Tia Health: 

• Weight Loss Follow Up - $40

• Laboratory Requisition: Blood Test, etc - $69 

• Referral to a Specialist - $69

• Sick Note (if you do not have a GHIP Health Card) - $69

• Prescriptions and Refills (No Controlled Substances) - $69

• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) -  $69

• Women's Health Assessment: Paps/CPX, etc. - $69

• Medical Forms: Employment, Doctor's Notes, etc. - $135

• Mental Health - $100

• Travel Consult - $100

• Naturopath - First Consult $240

As you can see from the above prices, Tia Health may work well if you need to visit for a one-time health problem that isn’t likely to need follow-up appointments. However, for all other cases, using Tia Health may end up being expensive without a health card or insurance to cover you. 

Rocket Doctor has tiers of payment options for their users. You can either pay for a 3-month period or an annual payment. They also have the option of a one-off appointment which you pay $74 per visit for. 

The 3-month payment options are as follows: 

• Lite option: $50 per month ($150 billed every 3 months). With this option, you get 3 visits every 3 months. This option is for 1 individual only. 

• Plus option: $75 per month ($225 billed every 3 months). You get 5 visits every 3 months with the Plus package. Up to 2 people can use this option. 

• Premium option: $110 per month ($330 billed every 3 months). You get 8 visits every 3 months. Up to 4 people can use this option.

The yearly payment options are: 

• Lite option: $47 per month ($564 annually). You get 12 visits in a year. This option is for 1 individual. 

• Plus option: $71 per month ($852 annually). 20 visits are available per year. Up to 2 people can use this option. 

• Premium option: $104 per month ($1,248 annually). With this option, there are 32 visits per year. Up to 4 people can use this option.

Rocket Doctor has a range of options to suit most needs. If you only need a one-off appointment, Rocket Doctor is a good option to use. It also has monthly tiers to suit different budgets, but you are limited to a specific amount of visits.

At Maple, they have a monthly membership plan. 

It costs $79.99 per month to use Maple. This covers virtual care for families, including the primary account holder’s spouse and dependents under 18 with the same primary residence. 

This membership plan includes: 

• Daily primary care provider visits (one for each family member in the household per day)

• Paediatric care

• Second medical opinions

• Personal health check-ins

• iCBT courses (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) 

• Access to specialists within days (in eligible provinces)

• Specialist referrals (in eligible provinces) 

• An $80 credit per month for a specialist visit

Maple is a good choice, particularly for people who have a spouse or dependents living with them. The membership plan provides daily access to doctors so would also work well for people who need access to a doctor often.

Depending on the time of day and the service that you are booking, you typically can schedule an appointment within 24 hours of your request. You can also book a future date and time that works for you. 

Telus MyCare also has availability on evenings and weekends. You have the option of selecting a doctor you already have a doctor-patient relationship with, or you can select to see the next available doctor. 

At the moment, Telus MyCare is experiencing longer than usual wait times in the province of British Columbia.

Tia Health has a quick booking option for some of its services, allowing you to book appointments on the same day. Tia Health works by booking an appointment with a specific doctor, meaning that waiting times can vary depending on the availability of each doctor. 

Tia Health has the most availability with general appointments. If you do not mind which doctor you want to visit, you likely can book a same-day appointment or an appointment within the next few days. There tend to be more appointments available during early mornings or early afternoons, rather than in the evening. 

Specialised appointments could take up to a month or more, particularly if you need to speak to a specific doctor.

You can book appointments up to 3 months in advance.

Similarly to Tia Health, Rocket Doctor’s wait times to see a doctor depend on the availability of the doctors in your province. However, with Rocket Doctor you do not select a specific doctor when you first request an appointment. 

Appointments are made by request and will be scheduled either for the same or the following day in most cases. It is a possibility that you may not be booked for your chosen time and date. Your appointment details will be determined by your reason for booking and the clinical context of the next available physician. 

For follow-up appointments, you can request to visit the same doctor. However, it depends on the doctor’s availability. 

With Maple, you can connect immediately to a doctor or nurse practitioner for medical care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, without needing an appointment. You also can book an appointment. 

If you need a specialist or specific healthcare provider, Maple offers on-demand and scheduled appointments, with wait times typically being between 12 and 72 hours. 

Did you know that, from October 01, 2024, BestQuote’s MedEC policy has included Maple telehealth as part of its insurance policy benefits?

This means that, if you purchase a MedEC policy, you can use Maple’s telehealth services for FREE without submitting a health insurance claim! You get three free virtual consultations at Maple per year. 

The MedEC policy is available for visitors to Canada, including people travelling to Canada on an IEC visa. 

The MedEC policy includes Maple telehealth in its benefits. You also can get a 25% refund on the remaining premium on your policy when you enrol in a provincial government health insurance plan (GHIP) in Canada. 

So, with the MedEC policy, you now get access to telehealth services without paying out-of-pocket, PLUS a 25% refund on your policy when you’re enrolled in GHIP! In addition, if you decide to leave Canada and go home early, the MedEC policy permits early return refunds as well!

If you want to know more about MedEC, we have a breakdown of the MedEC policy here.

If you have health insurance that permits early return refunds, like BestQuote’s MedEC plans, you may not want to submit a small insurance claim. 

Early return refunds are typically only available if you have not initiated a claim. So, if you plan to return home early, it may work out better for you to not submit a low-cost claim to your insurance and instead pay out-of-pocket. 

If you have the MedEC policy and do not submit a small claim, you could utilize the GHIP refund and the early return refund option. This means that you could end up with a lot more money back than a small-cost claim refund.