Snowbird travel insurance and what your province really pays in a US hospital

Trek Guide Ontario pays C$200 to C$400 a day for US inpatient care, Alberta C$100, BC C$75. What each plan pays, the days-away rules, and what to check. By Bishnu Adhikari · Oct 9, 2026 Read the full story

Your provincial health plan pays only a small fixed amount toward a US hospital stay, so a Canadian snowbird needs private travel medical insurance for the whole winter. As of October 2026, Ontario pays up to C$400 a day for intensive or operating-room care… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What your province actually pays for US hospital care

A fixed daily amount in Canadian dollars, paid back to you after you have paid the hospital. The three largest English-speaking provinces publish their rates, and every one of them tells you to buy private insurance as well. Most a province pays per day of US… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

How long you can stay away and keep provincial coverage

It depends on your province, and the rule you break is not the US one but your own. Overstay and you may have to reapply, or serve a waiting period when you come home, which leaves you uninsured in Canada as well. The detail matters. Ontario's OHIP page says… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The US side, six months and the tax-day count

Canadian visitors can usually stay six months without a visa, but the IRS counts your days on its own formula. Travel.gc.ca says Canadians can usually stay in the United States for six months, must apply to USCIS before that runs out to stay longer, and that… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Pre-existing conditions and the stability clause

A stability clause covers a condition only if nothing about it changed for a set period before you left, and that period is defined by your policy, not by you. The federal travel insurance page puts it plainly: you are covered only if there are no changes to… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What to check before you leave this autumn

Five checks, done in October, decide most snowbird claims. Count your days away. Use your province's rule and your actual travel dates, including any trips outside Canada earlier in the year. Match the policy to the whole stay. The federal page tells you to… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Our verdict

Buy a policy that covers every day you are away, with any condition agreed in writing, and treat the provincial payment as a small rebate on the bill. Then count your days twice, once against your province's rule and once against the IRS formula. The… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Keep reading

What declaring a condition really means. Cover, costs and the age-limit traps. Which one skips the FX fee on a US winter. What card cover leaves out. Sources: Government of Ontario, "OHIP coverage while outside Canada" (updated 16 January 2026) and "Apply for… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

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