# Non-Canadian participate in Canadian Health Plan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608 "2009-09-10T21:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608/1 "2009-09-10T21:04:39Z")
All the health plan talk does lead one to various questions and scenarios. Would it be possible for a non-Canadian to participate in a Canadian health plan? Let’s say for or administered by Manitoba. More precisely; could I, as a US citizen, independently pay to belong to a Canadian plan while I also pay for some very high deductible plan for emergencies that may happen here in the US? What’s a fairly typical health plan cost to Manitobans’ for their health coverage? Coverage for emergencies in US – check. Coverage for scheduled operations and procedures, to be performed in Canada – also check. Do not want a debate here. It is just a question regarding if it would be possible and if so, about what would it cost. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608/2 "2009-09-10T21:17:19Z")
Have you bothered to go to the Health Care Canada web site? > [@](#): > > **Who is eligible for health care in Canada?** > > Our national health insurance program is designed to ensure that all residents of Canada have access to medically necessary hospital and physician care on a prepaid basis. Residence in a province or territory is the basic requirement for insured health care coverage. The Canada Health Act defines a resident of a province or territory as: > > ``` > **"a person lawfully entitled to be or to remain in Canada who makes his home and is ordinarily present in the province, but does not include a tourist, a transient or a visitor to the province."** > > ``` > > Each province and territory is responsible for determining its own minimum residence requirements with regard to an individual’s eligibility for benefits under its health insurance plan. The Canada Health Act gives no guidance on such minimum residence requirements beyond an initial three-month waiting period to establish eligibility for and entitlement to insured health services. **Provinces may require minimum residence annually in the province, and evidence of intention of returning to the province for that minimum residence period each year.[** [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/res/faq-eng.php#a2](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/res/faq-eng.php#a2) ---
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608/3 "2009-09-10T23:10:37Z")
OK. Great. Thanks. A factual answer. I hadn’t “bothered” going to that site because I wasn’t quite sure how to phrase what I was looking for without getting a lot of background noise. Question answered. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608/4 "2009-09-11T16:36:38Z")
More specifically, [here](http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mhsip/)is the eligibility criteria for Manitoba. Since each province has its own plan, you’d have to check them all out to see what the differences are, but most are rather similar. > [@](#): > > To be eligible for Manitoba Health coverage you must: > > ``` > * Be a Canadian citizen or have Immigration status as outlined in The Health Services Insurance Act > * Establish a permanent residence in Manitoba, and > * Reside (physically) in Manitoba six months in a calendar year > > ``` > > The following are not eligible for coverage: > > ``` > * tourists > * transients > * visitors > * students other than Manitoba residents > * Students temporarily absent from other countries or other provinces and territories in Canada to attend educational institutions in Manitoba are not eligible for registration with the Manitoba Health Plan. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-canadian-participate-in-canadian-health-plan/509608/5 "2009-09-11T16:47:17Z")
It’s a bit of an odd question. You don’t _join_ a health plan. You _have_ a health plan based on being a citizen/resident alien/etc. If, in addition, you want to purchase medical coverage from various insurance groups (Sunlife, Co-operators etc.) then you can. And since you don’t join a provincial plan, you don’t pay directly for it. It tends to get funded both federally and provincially.