When it comes to benefits for employee health care, Canada is on the cutting edge. There are no deductibles for basic health care in Canada, and co pays are either very low or non existent. In Canada, the cost of prescription medication is paid for by public funds when it comes to those Canadians who are elderly or indigent. In other words, in Canada, just because you do not have benefits for employee health care from your employer does not mean that you cannot get the care you need.

In Canada, preventive care and early detection are highly valued within the society, and annual physicals are strongly encouraged whether an individual has benefits for employee health care or from health insurance companies. Canadians understand that detecting disease early increases life expectancy and quality of life, while reducing overall costs to health benefit plans.

Although health care in Canada is nationalized, three quarters of Canadians have supplemental private health benefits. A lot of this supplemental insurance exists in the form of benefits for employee health care. Approximately 30 percent of health related expenditures in Canada are paid for by private sources, for example, benefits for employee health care, privately bought individual insurance, and payments made out of pocket. Many Canadians, although happy with government health benefits, are also glad to have strategic employee benefit services available to them.