Emergency medical travel benefit

Your GreenShield emergency medical travel benefit through CanAssistance allows you to take advantage of a vast network of medical providers, resources, and contacts, all offering quality service, when you travel outside your home province and experience a medical emergency.

When travelling, it is recommended that you bring the following with you: your GreenShield identification card, provincial health card, and a credit card in case you need to pay out of pocket for a medical expense and submit a claim.  

Questions before you travel?

Learn more about your GreenShield emergency medical travel benefit (PDF).

Non-Emergency Care 

Eligible products/services rendered outside of Canada as though they were incurred within Canada. For example, if your child gets an earache while travelling, any prescription drug treatment would be covered under the regular benefit as though they were in Canada. Likewise, if someone receives a massage while travelling, that expense will be eligible-subject to regular parameters of the plan--and paid as though the claim was incurred in Canada.  

Coverage for acute treatment of an emergency episode only; any ongoing treatment of that condition is not covered, as the individual would be expected to return to Canada*. The intent of emergency out-of-country coverage is to stabilize the individual to allow for their return. From the earache example in the non-emergency care section, initial treatment of the earache would be covered under the emergency out-of-country benefit. However, if any follow-ups were needed, any follow-up visit would not be covered under emergency care.  

* Exception may apply for international sabbaticals. Eligibility will be determined at the time of treatment.   

An important and valued feature of the extended health benefit is the GreenShield deluxe travel benefit which covers 100% of medically necessary services or supplies required as a result of a medical emergency, up to $5,000,000 (Canadian Dollars) per lifetime per covered person. 

This travel benefit is an emergency medical benefit only and provides coverage while you are temporarily outside your regular province/territory of residence for vacation, education, or business reasons. It does not cover any non-emergency, elective, cosmetic, or experimental treatment, surgery, procedure, or any other service a covered person chooses to have performed outside their home province/territory whether pre-planned or not. 

Emergency means a sudden, unexpected injury, illness, or acute episode of disease that requires immediate medical attention and could not have been reasonably anticipated based upon the person's prior medical condition

An emergency no longer exists when the evidence reviewed by GreenShield Travel Assistance indicates that no further treatment is required while travelling/at the destination, or you are able to return to your province/territory of residence for further treatment. If GreenShield Travel Assistance determines that you transfer to another facility or return to your home province/territory of residence, and you choose not to, the benefits will not be paid for further medical treatment and coverage will be limited for unrelated events. 

Pre-existing stable conditions: 

If a covered person has been diagnosed with a medical condition or is working with a medical professional to explore a current health condition, sometimes called a “pre-existing” medical condition, it’s a requirement that the condition is considered stable if any travel is planned. Stability must be at least 90 days before travelling. 

Note: Emergency excludes treatment of a pre-existing condition that was not completely stable for the 90-day period immediately preceding the covered person’s departure.