If you, like me, are an international student, then your first time trying to understand the complex — and sometimes convoluted — world of health insurance may be when you first came to Canada.

Generally, health insurance protects you from the unexpected high costs that you may incur when you make use of health-care services and medical treatments. Think of it this way: you put money into a fund dedicated to cover any health-related expense so that if medical problems arise, your health insurance will provide the money to cover your medical expenses.

Under the terms of your study permit, you are required to have health insurance while you are studying in Canada.

In Ontario, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), which is funded by the provincial government. OHIP covers doctor appointments, walk-in clinic visits, emergency room visits, medical tests, and surgeries, among other services.

OHIP also used to cover international students, but in 1994 the Ontario government excluded international students from OHIP amid rising international tuition fees. Now, international students studying in Ontario must turn to private insurance companies for basic health coverage.

At U of T, students don’t have to look for such companies, as they are automatically enrolled into and charged with the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP).

Basic health coverage: UHIP

Operated by Sun Life Insurance Company, UHIP is the OHIP’s counterpart for international students. It covers hospital and physician visits, diagnostic and laboratory services, ambulance, and vision care, among others. To view the full list of services that UHIP covers, you can read through the UHIP Policy Booklet.

UHIP may reimburse up to $1 million per policy year for your medical expenses, with each policy year running from September 1 to August 31. For full transparency, UHIP cost me $756 for the 2021–2022 academic year. You can view your UHIP fees in your student account on ACORN.

If you have dependents, then you will have to enroll eligible dependent family members into your plan since they are not automatically enrolled into UHIP. You must enroll them within 30 days of their arrival in Canada.

To print your UHIP card — which you will have to present to medical practitioners before a check-in — or view your claims, you must register for an account through the Sun Life website. To get UHIP to reimburse your health-related expenses, you must fill out and send a claims form either over an email or in the mail to Sun Life. You will also need to send an invoice if you want UHIP to pay medical professionals directly.

I’ve never had to register for a Sun Life account, because Sun Life emailed my UHIP card to me directly through my U of T email. I’ve never had to file claims yet either, because I’ve only seen doctors at the Health & Wellness Centre on campus.

Supplementary health coverage: Student unions

It’s important to note that UHIP only covers basic health expenses; it doesn’t cover prescription drugs, travels, and dental services. This is where student unions come in: they offer their own extended health insurance plans to cover such services.

To clarify, your student union’s plan is separate from your UHIP coverage — it only extends the coverage of health-related expenses that are not covered by UHIP. To view the full list of services that your student union’s extended health insurance plan covers, as well as how to use this plan, you can visit your student union’s website.

Both domestic and international students are automatically enrolled into and charged fees for these extended plans. For full transparency, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) Extended Health & Dental Plan cost me $200.03 per term in the 2021–2022 academic year. You can view your own fees for your extended plan in your student account on ACORN. However, you can opt-out of this plan if you can prove that you are already covered by other extended health insurance coverage.

All three unions that represent full-time undergraduate students at U of T — the University of Toronto Students’ Union, SCSU, and University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union — operate their extended health insurance plans through Green Shield Canada. Graduate and part-time students are also covered by the plans of their respective unions.

My experiences

I’ve long struggled with eczema on my fingers. Often, when my eczema flares up and is not treated promptly, the skin on my fingers peels away like onion skin and becomes swollen, itchy, hot, and tender to the touch all at once. In those moments, even when I know it would do me no good, but because I need instant relief, I can’t help but scratch my fingers until the small cuts I’d unconsciously made would bleed. Sometimes, my eczema even gets infected.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to me in my first year at U of T. To get diagnosed and treated, I went to the UTSC Health and Wellness Centre. First, I showed the front desk clerk my UHIP card, who then booked me to see a doctor there, free of charge. Next, I went to a pharmacy and presented my Green Shield card upon paying for my prescription. Because I was covered by the extended health insurance plan, I got 90 per cent off my medicine.

I also went to the UTSC Health and Wellness Centre for counselling on three separate occasions. Each time, I presented my UHIP card to the front desk clerk and was able to talk to a psychotherapist, free of charge.

When you’re all alone in a foreign country, and you’re hurt or in pain, getting medical help can seem intimidating. I hope you now know that there is help available to you and that many of the health care services you’d need may already be covered by the health insurance plans you are enrolled into as an international student. I hope you are able to take advantage of these supports.