Blue Cross insurance in Canada: which plan serves your province, and what it sells

This is the reason most people end up calling me about Blue Cross. You retire, get laid off, go part time, start your own business, or your child turns too old for your plan, and the drug and dental card from work stops. Every Blue Cross plan in my provinces has some route onto a personal plan without health questions. The better routes, the conversion and retiree plans, are only open for a short time after the group cover ends. Miss that window, and you are back to answering medical questions, or to a guaranteed plan that pays less.

Saskatchewan is the one to be careful with. Its main health insurance page says to apply within 90 days of your group plan ending, while its page for people who are retiring says 60 days. Until Saskatchewan Blue Cross confirms it in writing, I treat 60 days as the deadline. Applying early costs you nothing.

In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Medavie also sells Assured Access, a small add-on that holds your health eligibility for later. Medavie says group members who lose their benefits can switch on a personal plan without more medical questions if they do it within 60 days, and that people who were not already Medavie members need proof of the loss from their employer or benefits provider. The same 60-day rule applies to a child who leaves the family plan. Ontario Blue Cross sells Assured Access too.

What I ask people to do in the first week

1. Get the end date of your group benefits in writing, and a letter or email showing the coverage has ended. Some plans need that proof.
2. Make a list of the prescriptions everyone on the plan takes, with the monthly cost if you know it. The drug maximum matters more than anything else on a conversion plan.
3. Note any dental work your dentist has already recommended. Several personal plans have waiting periods or low first-year maximums on major dental.
4. Count your days from the end date, not from your last day at work. They are not always the same.

A conversion plan will not match your work plan. Pacific Blue Cross says so plainly: Group Conversion pays 80% of eligible expenses to a lifetime maximum of $250,000 a person, and its drug option caps at $1,000, $2,000 or $5,000 a person a year depending on how long you have been on the plan. Manitoba's Blue Choice Conversion pays prescriptions at 75% to $1,500 a year, with dental sharing a $1,000 limit. If your drug costs are higher than that, we need to look at it before you sign, not after. If you are healthy, both Pacific Blue Cross and Manitoba Blue Cross note that answering the health questions for a regular personal plan can get you more for less. To test what a plan is worth to your family, try my health and dental insurance calculator.

For a Super Visa, the policy has to give at least $100,000 of emergency medical cover and be valid for at least one year from each entry, and it must come from a Canadian insurer or an approved foreign one. A $50,000 Blue Cross plan will not work for that, and many Super Visa parents are past the Blue Cross age limits. That is why I price Blue Cross next to the visitor plans on my visitors insurance page rather than recommend it by default. For new permanent residents waiting for OHIP or another provincial plan, see insurance for new immigrants.

Which Blue Cross do I buy from if I live in Ontario?

Ontario Blue Cross. Its site says the Blue Cross name in Ontario is licensed to the Canadian Hospital Service Association, which operates as Ontario Blue Cross.

Its personal plans are Complete Health, Guaranteed Acceptance, the Retiree Plan and Assured Access, plus travel and Visitors to Canada. I can arrange any of them for you.

How long do I have to apply for Blue Cross after my group benefits end?

Usually 60 days: in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, BC and Manitoba. Alberta's Retiree plan allows 90 days.

Saskatchewan's pages say 90 days in one place and 60 in another, so I work to 60. Inside the window the conversion and retiree plans skip the health questions; after it, you may have to answer them or take a guaranteed plan that pays less.

Will a Blue Cross personal plan cover a condition I already have?

A guaranteed plan will. Ontario Blue Cross and Medavie say their Guaranteed Acceptance plans cover all your health conditions with no waiting period for existing ones.

Plans that ask health questions can exclude what you already have. Some guaranteed plans make you wait for certain benefits, such as 12 months for hospital accommodation on Pacific Blue Cross Guaranteed Acceptance.

Can my parents use Blue Cross Visitors to Canada insurance for a Super Visa?

Possibly, if they are within the age limit and you buy at least $100,000 of emergency medical cover for at least one year.

Ontario Blue Cross sells to visitors 79 and under, and Alberta and Saskatchewan only offer the $150,000 amount to age 74. I compare it with other Super Visa insurers before you buy.

Can I buy a Blue Cross plan from another province?

No. Each regional Blue Cross sells to residents of its own area.

Pacific Blue Cross plans are for BC and Yukon residents, Saskatchewan's Guaranteed Acceptance needs a valid Saskatchewan health card, and Manitoba's travel plans need Manitoba Health registration. If you move, call me before you cancel anything.

Does Blue Cross sell life and critical illness insurance?

Yes, through a separate company, Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada, but I don't sell those policies.

I place Blue Cross health and dental, travel and Visitors to Canada plans. For life and critical illness I compare the other Canadian insurers I represent.

I live in Quebec. Can you still help me with Blue Cross?

Yes. I am not licensed in Quebec, but Quebec residents can call me and I will arrange the policy.

Quebec has its own plan, Québec Blue Cross. Call (647) 640-2222 or email Pankaj@InsureInCanada.ca and tell me what you need.