Manitoba Health
When you're outside of Manitoba
Not all services or facilities outside Manitoba are eligible for payment from Manitoba Health and Healthy Living.
 |
Please read this section and if you are unsure, contact: Client Services |
If you are visiting another province or territory and need insured medical care, show your Manitoba health card. If the required service is covered in Manitoba, the doctor may bill Manitoba Health and Healthy Living directly.
If the doctor bills you instead, pay the bill and get an itemized receipt. You can submit this receipt to the Insured Benefits Branch for review and consideration of full or partial reimbursement within six months from the date of service.
If you are visiting another country, you may be responsible
for paying the costs of emergency medical care. We highly recommend
that you buy travel health insurance from an insurance company before
you leave.
Send your original receipts for any medical care you paid for outside the country to Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Insured Benefits Branch (same address as above) within six months of the date you received care. If your claim is approved, you will be reimbursed. The amount you receive may not match what you paid. Here's why:
When Manitobans are temporarily away from Canada for reasons such as travelling, working or attending university, Manitoba Health and Healthy Living covers emergency medical care at the same rates that are paid in Manitoba:
- Doctor’s bills – covered at the same rates paid to Manitoba doctors
- Hospital bills – if you are admitted to hospital because of an emergency situation, Manitoba will pay between $280 and $570 Canadian a day, depending on the size of the hospital
- Emergency room or outpatient visit – covered up to $100 Canadian a visit
Nurse practitioner, midwife or physician assistant bills are not covered by insured benefits if you are outside Manitoba.
The costs in other countries, particularly the U.S., can be significantly higher than what Manitoba Health and Healthy Living pays. You pay the difference. If you’re planning to go out of the country, consider getting extra private health insurance. The cost of returning home to Canada after receiving emergency medical care is not covered.
| If you leave the country to get medical care without prior
approval from Manitoba Health, the costs are not covered. Please see out-of-province medical referrals. |
If you are moving away from Manitoba permanently, you must apply for an out-of-province certificate through Manitoba Health and Healthy Living. Within Canada, this covers your eligible health costs for the month in which you move to a new Canadian location, plus two additional months. If you are moving out of Canada permanently, this certificate covers your eligible emergency health costs at the same rates paid to Manitoba doctors for the remainder of the month in which you move plus two additional months. Contact the health insurance plan in your new location as soon as you arrive, so your coverage is not interrupted.
If you are taking an extended vacation, but are still a permanent
resident of Manitoba, you may continue your coverage even though your
vacation is longer than three months. You must be in Manitoba for at
least 183 days (six months) of the year – those days don’t have to be
in a row. Before you leave, send Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Client Services a
letter providing:
- your full name
- your permanent address
- the date you will leave
- the date you intend to return
- your six-digit Manitoba health number
- your out-of-province address
- the names of any family members who are going with you
You then receive a term certificate that entitles you to continue benefits under Manitoba Health and Healthy Living.
If you are leaving the province to attend school full time, but are still a permanent resident of Manitoba, you must send the same letter you would send for an extended vacation. You must include a letter from the school that you are attending, to confirm your status as a full-time student and the length of your studies.
You must reapply for coverage and provide enrolment confirmation each year you attend school outside the province.
If you are leaving the province for a temporary job, humanitarian aid/missionary work or a sabbatical outside of Canada and returning to Manitoba, you must send Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Client Services a copy of your work contract, indicating the length of your job term.
If you intend to return to the province, Manitoba Health and Healthy Living may extend your coverage for up to 24 months.
If you are leaving the province for a temporary job, humanitarian aid/missionary work or a sabbatical within Canada, Manitoba Health and Healthy Living may extend your coverage for 12 months. You must send Client Services a letter providing all the information listed under the “If you are taking an extended vacation” section.
|
Phone (Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Client Services): |
