The Canada Health Act mandates coverage of the cost of physician services and all medically necessary procedures, which are provided within a hospital setting (including physical therapy, medication, etc.).

Once you leave the hospital, the Canada Health Act does not cover prescriptions (except for children and those 65+), physical therapy, vision care, psychotherapy, etc. To fill the gap, Canadians pay privately per incident, buy individual private health insurance, or rely on employer-funded or union-funded health insurance. Today, approximately 41% of Canadians have employer-funded or union-funded insurance plans.

Canadians justifiably complain about long wait times for frequently urgent specialty medical procedures or surgical interventions. To help shorten the wait lists, the country has seen the growth of private, for-profit centres offering services more quickly. But these centres still bill the government health plans for the procedure (i.e., like in a public hospital, the patient does not pay for the surgery/procedure).

The private centres also provide services (usually vanity) which the provincial health insurance plans do not cover, LASIK procedures, etc.

Private Centres & What They Offer

The most established centre in this category is the Shouldice Hernia Hospital just north of Toronto. An actual hospital established in 1945, the province pays the surgeon's fees and the patient pays the mandatory three-day recovery period. Patients receive excellent food, access to an excellent library, internet, etc. (sort of like a German spa without the mountains). The hospital also takes fully-paying international patients.

The Gimbel Eye Center is located in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to cataract surgery, it treats retinal conditions, glaucoma, and provides surgical refractive error correction (e.g., LASIK, PRK, etc.). The fees for the cataract, retinal and glaucoma care are paid for by the government health insurance, but non-insured care/items (e.g., LASIK, premium lens upgrades, etc.) are not covered. The centre is also popular with international patients.

Medcan, in Toronto, offers preventative healthcare at fees ranging from C$1,385-C$11,150/year, per person. Many large corporations pay for a Medcan membership for their senior employees.

Cleveland Clinic Canada offers comprehensive health assessment and wellness services, which are not covered by a provincial health plan.

Menopause clinics offer virtual and in-person menopause care, including baseline hormone blood testing, nutrition counselling, etc. They, too, charge fees which are not covered by the provincial health plan.

To reduce wait times for surgery, the number of surgical treatment centres is growing. Some of these have contracts with provincial governments to provide government-funded services for usually non-emergency surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, etc.

What do Canadians think?

Canadians are not happy with what they see as an encroachment of a two-tiered health system, such as found in Australia, the UK, Germany, etc. They are particularly concerned with the idea that Canada would become like the USA, with excellent healthcare for the rich, but for others, not so much.

Also see:

What Kind of Healthcare System Does Canada Have?