[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Learn about Canada’s health care system, including Medicare, funding, accessing health care services and delivery.

About Medicare

Medicare is a term that refers to Canada’s publicly funded health care system. Instead of having a single national plan, we have 13 provincial and territorial health care insurance plans. Under this system, all Canadian residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without paying out-of-pocket.

Roles and responsibilities for health care services are shared between provincial and territorial governments and the federal government.

The provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the management, organization and delivery of health care services for their residents.

The federal government is responsible for:

• setting and administering national standards for the health care system through the Canada Health Act

• providing funding support for provincial and territorial health care services

• supporting the delivery for health care services to specific groups

• providing other health-related functions

Canada Health Act

Provincial and territorial health care insurance plans must meet the standards described in the Canada Health Act. This is necessary to get their full payment under the Canada Health Transfer.

These standards include:

• public administration

• comprehensiveness

• universality

• portability

• accessibility

Public administration

The provincial and territorial plans must be administered and operated on a non profit basis by a public authority.

Comprehensiveness

The provincial and territorial plans must insure all medically necessary services provided by:

• hospitals

• physicians

• dentists, when the service must be performed in a hospital

Medically necessary services are not defined in the Canada Health Act. The provincial and territorial health care insurance plans consult with their respective physician colleges or groups. Together, they decide which services are medically necessary for health care insurance purposes.

If a service is considered medically necessary, the full cost must be covered by the public health care insurance plan.

Universality

The provincial and territorial plans must cover all residents.

Portability

The provincial and territorial plans must cover all residents when they travel within Canada. Limited coverage is also required for travel outside the country.

When a resident moves to another province, they can continue to use their original health care insurance card for 3 months. This gives them enough time to register for the new plan and receive their new health insurance card.

Accessibility

The provincial and territorial plans must provide all residents reasonable access to medically necessary services. Access must be based on medical need and not the ability to pay.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Federal funding for health care

The federal government provides health care funding to the provinces and territories through the Canada Health Transfer.

Provinces and territories receive additional federal funding support through other fiscal transfers.

Delivering health care services to specific groups

We provide certain direct health care services to some population groups, including:

• First Nations people living on reserves

• Inuit

• serving members of the Canadian Forces

• eligible veterans

• inmates in federal penitentiaries

• some groups of refugee claimants

Other federal health-related functions

We are responsible for the regulation of products, such as:

• food

• consumer products

• pharmaceuticals

• cosmetics

• chemicals

• pesticides

• medical devices

• radiation-emitting devices like cellphones

The federal government also supports:

• health research

• health promotion and protection

• disease monitoring and prevention

The government also provides tax support for health-related costs:

• tax credits for:

  • disability

  • medical expenses

  • caregivers and disabled dependents

• tax rebates to public institutions for health services

• deductions for private health insurance premiums for the self-employed 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Accessing health care services

Canadians most often turn to primary health care services as their first point of contact with the health care system.

In general, primary health care:

• delivers first-contact health care services

• coordinates patients’ health care services to support:

  • continuity of care, which means receiving high quality care from diagnosis to recovery

  • ease of movement across the health care system when more specialized services are needed from specialists or in hospitals

The provinces and territories also provide supplemental coverage to certain groups of people, such as:

• seniors

• children

• social assistance recipients

This helps pay for health care services that are not generally covered under the publicly funded health care system. These services include:

• vision care

• dental care

• prescription drugs

• ambulance services

• independent living (home care)

Those who do not qualify for supplementary benefits under government plans pay for these services through:

• out-of-pocket payments

• private health insurance plans

Provincial Health Insurance

Health insurance in Canada is handled by individual provinces and territories. New residents to a particular province must apply for health coverage. Upon being granted health coverage, a health card is issued which provides coverage in that particular province or territory.

For new residents, there are typically waiting periods before health coverage will be granted. This can vary, but cannot exceed three months as part of the Canada Health Act.

Certain provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario) require health care premiums for services. Under the Canada Health Act, however, health services cannot be denied due to financial inability to pay premiums.

In addition to standard health coverage as described in the Canada Health Act, provinces typically provide additional services. These can include physiotherapy, dental coverage, and prescription medicines. Provinces are not obligated to provide services not listed in the Canada Health Act, and such services can be affected by changing government policies.

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”848″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Health Care and Politics

One of the forefronts of debate in Canadian politics is its health care system. There are many factors in the debate, but some key issues are:

Federal involvement in health care: Because provinces and territories are responsible for the actual administration and delivery of health care in Canada, friction is apparent whenever policies are set at a federal level.

Private health care: While privately funded clinics do provide certain services with shorter wait times than the public system, there are those who object to any privatization of the health system. The arguments are that a “two-tier” health care system will unbalance the system and favor those with higher incomes.

The shortage of doctors and nurses in Canada: Some feel that Canada’s health care system does not adequately compensate health care providers. This has led to a “brain drain” of Canadian doctors and nurses, which have left Canada to pursue careers in the United States. Attracting and keeping skilled medical workers is a priority if Canada is to be able to provide proper medical services.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Si parla tanto di Fuga dei Cervelli ma tu sai quanti italiani sono partiti quest’anno? I numeri Istat confermano che nel 2016 c’è stato un aumento nel fenomeno del “movimento migratorio con l’estero”. Si contano a gennaio di quest’anno 4.811.163 cittadini iscritti all’Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero (AIRE). La maggior parte delle iscrizioni sono per espatrio (oltre 2,5 milioni) e per nascita (1.888.223).

Ma quali sono i motivi profondi che spingono queste persone ad partire e ricostruire all’estero la propria vita?

Nella nostra esperienza sul territorio mondiale abbiamo raccolto un po’ di testimonianze e di informazioni e abbiamo stilato l’elenco delle 7 buone ragioni che spingono gli italiani a migrare all’estero:

1. Migliorare la conoscenza delle lingue straniere: Il modo più efficace per migliorare le competenze linguistiche è confrontarsi giornalmente con madrelingua nel paese estero di destinazione.
2. Arricchire il proprio cv: migrare in un paese straniero aumenta le possibilità di fare carriera più velocemente. I concetti di mobilità e di meritocrazia entreranno nel vocabolario di chi decide di affacciarsi al mondo del lavoro all’estero.
3. Conoscere la cultura locale: immergersi in una nuova realtà culturale e viverla giornalmente permette di arricchire il proprio bagaglio personale, culturale e professionale.
4. Uscire dalla propria zona di comfort: vivere in un altro paese, lontano dalle proprie abitudini e dalle sicurezze familiari e sociali migliora la capacità di adattamento personale alle nuove e diverse situazioni, come quelle burocratiche, fiscali e legali, socio-culturali e linguistiche.
5. Creare un network internazionale: Un’esperienza all’estero permette di avere una rete di amicizie e conoscenze internazionali che è molto appagante dal punto di vista sociale e anche professionale
6. Migliorare il tenore di vita: molti pensionati scelgono di migrare in un paese straniero con un costo di vita basso per vivere tranquillamente con la sola pensione percepita.
7. Frequentare ambienti accademici e scolastici diversi: gli studenti che decidono di iscriversi alle università o istituti scolastici stranieri entreranno in contatto con diversi sistemi scolastici e modalità di insegnamento e apprendimento.

Ti sei prefisso uno di questi obiettivi?

Se non avevi valutato l’opzione di partire o se era qualcosa a cui rimuginavi, forse è arrivato il momento di saperne di più… Fatti “accompagnare” dai nostri esperti in un viaggio fra le informazioni e le opportunità dei paesi. Forse c’è qualche occasione fatta su misura per te!

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]