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Health Care Coverage

University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP)

What UHIP is...

The University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) provides coverage for basic health care services such as hospital, physician, laboratory, ambulance and some other services generally covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

Why UHIP is mandatory...

  • As a medical trainee registered with the University of Toronto, you must have insurance to pay for health care services and medical treatments; this is a mandatory registration requirement for the Postgraduate Medical Education Office that must be completed prior to commencing training
  • There is a three-month waiting period for OHIP for postgraduate medical trainees (and accompanying family members) that begins on their day of arrival in Ontario. UHIP is required to bridge this gap in coverage.

Who meets eligibility requirements for UHIP?

  • An employee:
    An employee with a valid work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), working in a participating Ontario University or affiliated college
  • A dependant:
    • The legal, common-law or same-sex spouse who is living with the eligible employee, where the conjugal relationship has existed for at least 12 months
    • The natural or legally-adopted child, stepchild, or child for whom the eligible employee has been appointed legal guardian, whose primary residence is with the employee, is unmarried, dependent on the employee for support, and under age 22 (under age 25 if studying full- time at an accredited educational institution, or any age if mentally or physically disabled, as defined by UHIP)

What if I already have health insurance coverage from my home country?

  • Although you may already have a travel health insurance policy that will cover you in Canada, you are still required to purchase UHIP unless your provider is one of the pre-approved plans listed on the UHIP website at: http://uhip.ca/Enrollment/Index#toc10

More information concerning the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) is available at: http://uhip.ca

If your work permit is valid for 6 months or longer, you will have to purchase UHIP for only 3 months. If your work permit is valid for less than 6 months, you will be required to purchase UHIP coverage for the entire duration of your training.

Have coverage under one of these plans:

  • Ciência sem Fronteiras (Csf)
  • Embassy of Botswana – Student Program (Cowan #G0020376)
  • Embassy of the State of Kuwait GHIP Replacement
  • Interim Federal Health Care Plan
  • Libyan Embassy and Scholarship Program – Canada Policy #G0068002
  • Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau (SACB-HDP) Policy #165069
  • Any Canadian provincial/territorial government health insurance plan (e.g. OHIP)

If your insurance plan is not listed under the pre-approved plans, you may apply for exemption. Please check the UHIP website for details at:
http://uhip.ca/Enrollment/Index#toc10

The Postgraduate Medical Education Office is located at:
500 University Avenue 6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1V7

Contact Information for UHIP:
Postgraduate Medical Education Office
Phone: (416) 978-5161
Email: angelina.sulay@utoronto.ca

E_Contact Cowan 1-833-377-8447
Monday-Friday 8:00 - 5:00pm (ET)
UHIP.RAMU@cowangroup.ca
www.clients.cowangroup.ca

UHIP Premiums – September 1, 2022 - August 31, 20232
Trainee’s Work Permit Valid for Less than 6 Months

Duration of Coverage Needed (Months) Trainee Trainee + One Dependent1 Trainee + Two or More Dependents2
1 $63 $126.00 $189.00
2 $126.00 $252.00 $378.00
3 $189.00 $378.00 $567.00

1Only spouses and children are eligible dependents for UHIP coverage.
2The trainee and their accompanying dependents will become eligible for Ontario Health Insurance Plan coverage three months after their arrival in Ontario.

For a full table of University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) premiums, please visit the following website link: http://uhip.ca/all-about-uhip.aspx

Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)

What OHIP coverage is...

The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers a wide range of health services, however, it does not pay for services that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery. You can find a description of insured services through the OHIP website, at: www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/ohip

How it’s different from the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP)...

  • OHIP is a provincially-funded plan – there are no premiums
  • OHIP is accepted universally by health care providers across Ontario for all health care services covered under the policy

To meet the minimum qualifications you must:

  • be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12 month period
  • be physically in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after you began living in the province
  • make Ontario your primary home

You must also meet at least one additional OHIP requirement, including:

  • you are a Canadian citizen
  • are an Indigenous person (registered under the federal Indian Act)
  • you are a Canadian permanent resident (formerly called a “landed immigrant”)
  • are in Ontario on a valid work permit and are working full-time in Ontario, for an Ontario employer, for at least six months
    • your spouse and any dependents also qualify if you do

You MUST register for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan within the first three months of your arrival in Ontario if you meet eligibility requirements.

Even if you are eligible for OHIP coverage, you must still purchase three months of UHIP coverage for yourself and your family members to cover the three-month OHIP waiting period.

Extended Health Care Insurance

The University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) only provide coverage for medically necessary health services; consequently, extended health care plans are needed to cover non- medically necessary health services.

Please refer to the “Health Services Covered” section above for more details about non-medically necessary services.

  • If you are not eligible for extended health insurance benefits through your employment contract, you can contact one of the many institutions offering private extended health insurance plans.

A variety of institutions offer extended health insurance plans, some of which are listed along with their website addresses below:

Extended Health Insurance Plans

Travel Medical Insurance

If you travel outside Ontario but within Canada, UHIP provides coverage for medical expenses up to the same level of coverage provided in Ontario.
If you travel outside of Canada UHIP will pay only for medically necessary emergency expenses, the same as OHIP.

  • UHIP benefits will also change anytime OHIP benefits change.

For an overview of UHIP coverage provided outside of Canada, please refer to
the following website: https://uhip.ca/Enrollment/PlanDetails

  • OHIP will pay only for insured, emergency out-of-country health services that are rendered to an insured person, including very limited amounts for physician services and hospital/health facility services.

For a complete overview of the extent of OHIP travel coverage, please refer to the following website: https://www.ontariohttps://www.ontario.ca/page/ohip-coverage-while-outside-canada.ca/page/ohip- coverage-while-outside-canada

It is recommended that you purchase supplemental Travel Medical Insurance if you are planning a trip outside of Canada. A variety of institutions offer travel insurance options, a few have been listed with their website links below.

Travel Medical Insurance Plans

Accessing Primary Health Care in Toronto

Non-emergent primary care in Toronto is accessed through family physicians’ offices for adults and children and through primary care pediatricians’ offices for children. Finding a family physician in Toronto can be challenging, particularly if you do not have Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage. PGME’s Postgraduate Wellness Office therefore recommends the following steps:

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE

Please see your primary physician prior to your departure to Toronto and ensure:

  • Your immunizations, including those required for practice, are up-to-date.
  • Your children’s immunizations, including those required for school, are up-to-date.
  • You have at least a 3 month supply of medications that you require for any chronic condition.

Take the time before you arrive in Toronto to understand how you can access the health care system, and to learn about the many health care options in Ontario, at: https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/3263/your-health-care-options

ONCE YOU ARRIVE

For postgraduate trainees with OHIP:

a. Health Care Connect is a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) program which helps Ontarians without a family health care provider find one in their community. You must have a valid OHIP card, an up-to-date mailing address, and not presently have a Family Physician.
To register for the Health Care Connect program or to find out more information on how they can assist you and your family with finding a physician, call 1-800-445-1822 Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5pm, or visit: https://ontario.ca/locations/health

b. Some Family Medicine Units at teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto are able to accept postgraduate medical trainees as patients. Contact the Family Medicine Unit at the hospital site where you are training as a clinical fellow, or one close to where you are living in Toronto, to ask if they are able to accept you and/or your family. If they are not accepting patients, it is likely that they have a list of family physicians in their community who are accepting, so ask for this list.

c. Occasionally, the Postgraduate Wellness Office gets the name of a practice or physician accepting new patients. These opportunities fill quickly and don’t come along often, but you can try contacting us at: pgwellness@utoronto.ca and we will pass on any names that become available.

d. Some of your best referral sources are your colleagues and friends. Ask if they have family physicians and if they are accepting.

e. If you need medical care that is non-emergent/non-urgent and do not yet have a family physician, you can find links to walk-in medical clinics which are covered by OHIP. You can find one close to you at: https://ontario.ca/locations/health

How to Apply for Coverage

The closest address to the PGME Office at which you can register for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) is:

Service Ontario
777 Bay Street, Lower Level
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C8
Phone: 1-800-267-8097
Health Card Inquiry: 1-888-376-5197

This office is located in the lower concourse level of the Shops at College Park.
Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Closed on public holidays

Contact Information for OHIP:
Service Ontario INFOline: 1-866-532-3161 Website: https://ontario.ca/page/health-cards

Map of 777 Bay Street

Documents Needed To Register for Health Insurance Plans

INSURANCE PLAN UHIP OHIP
Medical Trainee

  • Passport

  • Work permit

  • Passport

  • Work permit

  • Proof-of-residency in Ontario (e.g. mortgage, rental or lease agreement for home or apartment)
Family Member(s)

  • Passport stamped with arrival date

  • A work permit, study permit or visitor record (where applicable)

  • Passport with admission stamp cross-referenced to the medical trainee’s work permit or;

  • An open/closed work permit or;

  • The medical trainee’s work permit indicating accompanying family members

Health Services Covered

  • UHIP provides coverage for basic health care services such as hospital, physician, laboratory, ambulance and other services generally covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan
  • UHIP will pay up to $1,000,000 (Canadian) per policy year (September to August) for each covered person for the cost of eligible, medically necessary health services and medical treatments

For a complete list of services that UHIP does and does not cover, please refer to the downloadable UHIP booklet from the website: https://uhip.ca/Enrollment/PlanDetails

OHIP covers a wide range of health services; however, it does not pay for services that are not medically necessary such as cosmetic surgery. For a complete account of OHIP-covered health services, please refer to the following website: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/services.aspx

In Ontario, many citizens and permanent residents have supplementary health insurance in addition to their provincial plan (OHIP). Supplementary health insurance provides additional coverage for services that are not covered under OHIP or UHIP (e.g. prescription drugs, dental care).