National Healthy Pregnancy Campaign

The Canadian Minister of Health, Tony Clement, has announced the launch of a 5 week campaign to raise awareness of health considerations for a healthy pregnancy. This 3 million dollar awareness campaign will focus around raising awareness in Canadian women about health issues regarding pregnancy.

The new Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy will offer Canadian expectant mothers the latest research and scientific guidance regarding health issues for delivering a healthy baby. This guide is offering information on behaviors that can have a negative impact on a pregnancy, as well as information regarding nutrition, emotional health and a pregnancy calendar.

If you are planning on starting a family, we recommend that you check your current health coverage to see whether or not it covers maternity issues and your new infant. As your family grows, so does your health insurance needs. FlexCare offers full coverage for expectant mothers, and newborns are automatically added to the same coverage, if the application is made within 30 days.

For more information on pregnancy and health issues, please visit http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca
  

Travel Insurance: Married Outside Of Canada

Traveling to exotic locations to get married can be a fun option for some couples. The concept of combining a vacation with your wedding is a great way to reunite with family and friends to celebrate. With families and friends sometimes scattered across the country, or even continent, a vacation wedding offers a fun location for everyone to meet at.

Whether you are running off to Las Vegas to get married in the Little White Chapel, or are dreaming of a sunset wedding on an isolated beach, certain factors must be considered when choosing to get married abroad. Ensure that once you have selected the location of the wedding, you understand their requirements in order to apply for a marriage license. It is a good idea to send the traveling requirements list (i.e. documentation, passports) with your invitations so your guests know well in advance what they need to bring with them.

It is also advisable that you inform your guests of the need for travel insurance coverage. You can inquire if they have current coverage through their employer, and whether or not they will be covered for this trip. HealthQuotes.ca offers trip insurance that covers families and groups, which may be beneficial for this particular circumstance.

With proper planning, a vacation wedding will be the most memorable experience of your lifetime. Along with ensuring that you have the proper travel documents, ensure that you and your guests have the proper travel coverage in order to avoid any problems in your perfect day.
 

Health Literacy

The Canadian Council on Learning has recently released an analysis which suggests that an alarming number of Canadians do not understand their health care instructions. They suggest that over 90% of Canadian seniors and 55% of working-age Canadians lack the literacy skills required to accurately read and follow prescription instructions, understand food nutrition labels or to give informed consent.

Failure to accurately read prescription instructions can lead to dosing errors, causing further health issues. For Canadians with diabetes, blood glucose scores may not be read properly, and therefore not be treated appropriately. This can further be aggravated by not understanding the nutrition labels on food which can determine whether that certain product is good for them, or is potentially harmful.

Seniors are statistically the population with the most complex health problems, with 9 out of 10 Canadian seniors currently taking at least one prescription drug. It is therefore vitally important that Canadians with elderly parents, relatives, or friends who have health issues to ensure that prescription instructions are understood and followed correctly.

Seniors may also not be aware of what their current health insurance policy covers when it comes to prescriptions and diabetic supplies, or whether they need to upgrade their coverage. For those who have elderly parents, relatives or friends that have medical issues, and who are not able to accurately read and assess their policy, we recommend that you read the policy with them, and ensure that they understand what their benefits cover. For those seniors who are now experiencing different health-care related costs, their policy may need to be changed in order to reflect these new changes.

If you suspect that an elderly person close to you may be experiencing problems understanding their current health coverage, please call us at 1-800-474-4474 to discuss these issues.
   

Children's Fitness Tax Credit

The Children's Fitness Tax Credit came into effect January 1, 2007.  This tax credit hopefully will encourage parents to enroll their child(ren) in organized physical activities in order to combat the alarming child obesity statistics. By defraying the costs associated with children's organized sports and other activities, the Federal Government is hoping to offset the costs of registration and membership fees.

The tax credit is available up to $500 per child under the age of 16, in registration and membership fees for ongoing, supervised programs. Eligible programs must include a significant amount of physical activity which contributes to cardio-respiratory endurance, plus an additional physical component of: muscle strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and/or balance. For parents of a child who is eligible for the disability tax credit, a separate $500 will be available, with a minimum of $100 being spent on registration fees.

By offering this tax credit, the Canadian government hopes to influence a whole generation of children on the positive benefits of physical activity and healthy life styles. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are one of the leading causes of juvenile diabetes. By encouraging children to become physically active, hopefully the rate of juvenile diabetes will start to decline.

Recent studies have estimated that a person with diabetes can incur costs for medication and medical supplies of between $1000 and $15,000 a year. These costs are not covered by your provincial health care plan. For those parents who have a child with juvenile diabetes, purchasing health insurance coverage can be an effective way of defraying these costs. HealthQuotes offers a ComboPlus Starter Plan which does not require a medical examination and covers diabetic supplies.

If your child has been diagnosed with diabetes, and you would like more information, please visit http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dc-ma/diabete/index_e.html.
 

GST Rebate Ending for Visitors to Canada

In September of 2006, the Government of Canada announced the elimination of the GST Visitor’s Rebate Program. Beginning April 1, 2007, all federal rebates under the Visitor’s Rebate Program will be eliminated. Rebates that will effectively end include those for visitors’ short-term accommodation, exported goods by non-resident consumers, and non-resident convention expenses.

The GST (Goods And Services Tax) rebate has been available for non-residents who purchase short-term accommodation and/or goods in Canada.  Under this rebate, visitors could claim a refund on goods they purchased in Canada, but took home with them for use primarily in their home country. It also included the GST paid on short-term accommodations, including hotels, hostels, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, and motels.

The rebate will still apply to those who have purchased eligible goods and/or services before April 1, 2007. The rebate will be honored for those who have a specific signed agreement for goods that will be shipped outside of Canada, but are not shipped until after the cut-off date. The agreement must be signed before the cut-off date, and follow the eligibility rules. If you purchase eligible goods before April 1, 2007, but do not leave Canada until afterwards, you will still receive the rebate.

Non-residents will still be eligible for the GST rebate when their accommodations begin before April 1, 2007 and continue afterwards for a period no longer than 30 days. In order to receive reimbursement, you must stay in the same facility for the duration of your trip. The rebate will also apply to those travelers who have already booked and purchased their accommodations before April 1, 2007, but whose actual trip does not begin until after this date. This will apply to all non-resident travelers whose accommodation in the same facility begins before April 1, 2009. These requirements also apply to travelers who have purchased prepaid tour packages.

Travelers who have eligible GST rebate claims will have one year to file their application. For those who have written agreements before the cut-off date, but whose trip occurs afterwards, special transition measures will be implemented regarding eligible filing dates. This will also apply to those whose trip begins before the cut-off date, but continues afterwards.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please visit the Canadian Revenue Agency.