Health insurance glossary
Paramedical services
Plain-English definition
In health and dental insurance, paramedical services are treatments from practitioners other than physicians, such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, registered massage therapists and psychologists. Provincial plans generally cover them little or not at all, so this coverage usually comes from an extended health plan. Plans usually set a yearly maximum for each type of practitioner, or a combined maximum.
By the HealthRate editorial desk
How it works
Plans list which practitioners they cover and usually require them to be registered or licensed in your province.
Limits are often set per practitioner type per year, sometimes with a per-visit cap, and some plans ask for a doctor's referral for certain services.
Check whether the maximum is per person or shared across the family, and whether it resets on the calendar year or the plan's benefit year.
Why it matters
For a course of physiotherapy, massage therapy or counselling, the per-practitioner maximum, not the headline list of services, decides how much of the treatment is covered.