What You Need to Know About Getting Health Insurance With Great-West Life in Canada

There are many great publicly funded health services available to Canadians. But the fact is, there are many medical needs that are not currently covered under these provisions.

That's why about two third of Canadians opt to take private health insurance. If you're thinking about doing the same, it's important to make sure that you choose a great plan that works for you and your family.

When it comes to health insurance, Great-West Life has a range of products that could help with various expenses. This will give peace of mind if you find yourself in a time of medical need. They also have group plans that make great sense for businesses.

Read on to find out exactly what Great-West Life health insurance has to offer you and your family.

Group Plans - Health Insurance Solutions for Businesses

Great-West Life health insurance is available in group benefit form. This allows you business owners to show your employees how seriously you take their health and well-being.

Options open to you include:

• Healthcare benefits - to bridge the gap between provincial health insurance and the needs of your employees
• Dentalcare benefits - a high-value addition to an employee's benefits package that will keep them smiling
• Wellness and disability programs - taking a holistic approach to the wellbeing of your employees
• Retiree benefits - taking care of your employees on into their retirement

Great-West Life recognizes that all companies are different. For that reason, they are able to tailor-make their plans to meet your company's individual needs. This can even include providing coverage for employees based outside of Canada.

Healthcare Benefits - Group Plans

Great-West Life group benefits include prescription drug coverage (more on this below), critical illness insurance and emergency travel medical coverage. All of these can bring peace of mind to your employees so that they can focus on being productive at work.

A unique feature that Great-West Life offer is healthcare spending accounts.

Credits in these accounts amount to income tax-free dollars that users can spend on medical expenses. This allows out-of-pocket expenses to be covered in a tax effective way.

Your employees will also have access to the Health and Wellness site. This allows users to run a personal health risk assessment and build an action plan based on this. This can help them to make lifestyle changes to improve their general health.

Individual Health and Dental Insurance Plans

While some employers offer some form of health and dental insurance, this can be limited and require an additional policy to meet the shortfall. Other employers don't currently offer any such benefits, putting the onus onto you to take care of this for your family.

Or you may have become unemployed or be facing retirement with no health and dental insurance plan in place. For this kind of health insurance, Great-West Life has got you covered.

Sonata Health

Sonata bridges the gap between what you currently have and what you really need.

It has three levels of coverage - Core, Core Plus and Elite. They each offer coverage for health, dental, vision and more at different levels.

PlanDirect

If retirement is on the horizon for you, this is a time to focus on enjoying life, not worry about losing your employer-sponsored health benefits.

PlanDirect is an individual Great-West Life health insurance plan that covers you for this time of life. It's available at three levels - basic, comprehensive and premier. You can also add additional benefits such as major dental coverage, emergency travel insurance, and accidental death cover.

Apply within 60 days of losing your group benefits coverage for guaranteed acceptance onto the plan.

Benefits of Health Insurance Plans

Here is a taste of just some of the benefits that you could enjoy from Great-West Life's health insurance plans.

Prescription Drug Coverage

Whether you currently have need of prescription medications or not, there are plans available that can help you to meet the cost if the need arises.

These include Health Case Management. This covers those needing long-term medication for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

In these cases, a Health Case Manager is appointed, who works with you and your doctor to agree on a sustainable treatment package.

There are plans such as Enhanced Generic Substitution and Therapeutic Class Pricing. These help members to get access to identical generic, rather than brand-name drugs, or alternative drugs that are similarly effective. This helps patients to manage the cost of their treatment more effectively.

Critical Illness Insurance

Critical illness coverage is there to provide peace of mind should you or a family member be diagnosed with a serious, life-threatening condition. Common conditions covered include many forms of cancer, heart attack, and stroke.

It provides a lump sum benefit on approval of the claim. Plan members will also have access to medical advice from the 'Best Doctors' network. This is a group of experienced clinicians who will be able to guide you through the treatment process.

Emergency Travel Medical Coverage

While we often think of travel insurance when we go overseas, Canada's a big place. They've got you covered there too when you're more than 500 kilometers from home. 

Their team of advisors can help you get the treatment you need where you are, and also arrange other practicalities. These include legal assistance, transport reimbursement, and traveling companion expenses.

The Takeaway: Health Insurance Great-West Life

If you're looking to bridge that gap between provincial cover and your actual need for health insurance, Great-West Life could be a great option for you.

Both their group and individual benefits help you to budget for expenses that would otherwise have come straight out of your pocket. This can give you greater peace of mind and the ability to more confidently plan for your future.

At Insurdinary, we're here to make sure that you get the best value health and dental insurance that meets all of your needs.

Click here to contact us today and get the right quote for you.