Is my Canadian wife covered by my (American) health insurance?

[sammy4427]

Hi!

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I'm 21 and she's 22. We are currently long-distance as I try to gain permanent residency to move in with her. Prior to being married, she was covered by her dad's health insurance and had no issues. However, now that she's married, it's been suggested to us that she might no longer be eligible under her dad's health insurance.

I've placed her under my (American) employer's health insurance, and she's got a health insurance card and everything. What we're wondering now though is how that actually works. Would she go to doctor/dentist visits in Canada and try to run it through our American health insurance? Would her eligibility under her dad's insurance not be changed since I'm not living in Canada or have any sort of permanent status there?

Thank you.

 

[scylla]

Hi!

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I'm 21 and she's 22. We are currently long-distance as I try to gain permanent residency to move in with her. Prior to being married, she was covered by her dad's health insurance and had no issues. However, now that she's married, it's been suggested to us that she might no longer be eligible under her dad's health insurance.

I've placed her under my (American) employer's health insurance, and she's got a health insurance card and everything. What we're wondering now though is how that actually works. Would she go to doctor/dentist visits in Canada and try to run it through our American health insurance? Would her eligibility under her dad's insurance not be changed since I'm not living in Canada or have any sort of permanent status there?

Thank you.

You need to call your insurance company and ask them these questions. I don't think they will cover any of her health care costs in Canada. It doesn't work that way.

Visiting a doctor is free in Canada. She would only need to pay for a dentist visit.

She is no longer her father's dependent now that she is married to you and won't be covered under her father's insurance. He should remove her from his policy immediately to avoid creating problems with his coverage.

 

[sammy4427]

You need to call your insurance company and ask them these questions. I don't think they will cover any of her health care costs in Canada. It doesn't work that way.

Visiting a doctor is free in Canada. She would only need to pay for a dentist visit.

She is no longer her father's dependent now that she is married to you and won't be covered under her father's insurance. He should remove her from his policy immediately to avoid creating problems with his coverage.

Thanks for your response. I'll give my insurance company a call to see what I can gather from them.

I think our biggest question is then what happens with all of the things that would have been covered by her father's insurance previously? Paying out of pocket for dentist visits isn't the end of the world, but what of the other procedures or medications that would've been paid for or subsidized by her dad's insurance? Is there a way for her to take out an insurance policy of her own?

 

[scylla]

Thanks for your response. I'll give my insurance company a call to see what I can gather from them.

I think our biggest question is then what happens with all of the things that would have been covered by her father's insurance previously? Paying out of pocket for dentist visits isn't the end of the world, but what of the other procedures or medications that would've been paid for or subsidized by her dad's insurance? Is there a way for her to take out an insurance policy of her own?

She can certainly look into getting her own policy. Does she work in Canada for a company that provides their employees with coverage? This would be the best option by far.

Otherwise if she's getting one on her own, the cost of the policy will likely exceed what she would pay if she just covered the costs herself and/or there will be deductibles which will result in the insurance company only covering a small portion of these expenses. Do you know exactly what her father's coverage paid for and how much this amounted to per year?

 

[canuck78]

Is she still a student? She likely has some of coverage under her university.