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What Happens to My Health Insurance if I Go on Long-Term Disability?
Being diagnosed with a medical condition that prevents you from performing the duties of your job can impact your life in many ways. If you are no longer able to earn a living, you may need to file for long-term disability benefits through your insurance provider and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). By collecting long-term disability benefits payments, your regular health insurance coverage is generally not affected.
Canada does not have overarching rules regulating health insurance coverage available to employees who receive long-term disability benefits. Instead, individual employers determine how long-term disability benefits payments may impact an employee’s health and dental insurance.
Recipients of long-term disability benefits may still be eligible for health insurance as long as they are still employed. To learn more about your employer’s policies, you might consider speaking with your company’s human resources department or reviewing the Continuation of Benefits provision in your company’s insurance policy schedule.
Your Employer’s Continuation of Benefits Policy Determines if You Keep Your Health Insurance
A Continuation of Benefits provision in your employer’s insurance coverage may permit you to continue using your health insurance even while collecting long-term disability benefits payments.
By reviewing your employer’s group insurance policy, you may be able to learn whether this provision requires you to continue paying a portion of your health care premiums while you’re on long-term disability, and how long your employer may continue offering health insurance coverage.
The policy may provide some form of health insurance as long as you continue working for them. This means that, unless your company terminates your employment while you are on long-term disability leave, you may retain your health insurance benefits.
However, you may be required to continue paying a portion of your health and dental insurance fees.
Severance of Employment for Employees on Long-Term Disability
In Canada, employers often continue to employ individuals on staff for at least two years after they receive a medical diagnosis or sustain an injury that prevents them from returning to work. However, your company may decide to terminate your employment before this two-year period ends based on the doctrine of frustration. If you lose your job, your employer usually has to provide you with notice of termination or provide you with severance pay or both.
Companies have the right to terminate a staff member’s employment for a number of reasons. Despite this, employers are not usually allowed to fire anyone simply because they have a disabling medical condition.
If you believe your employment was terminated solely because of your disability, you may decide to seek legal assistance.
With the assistance of a lawyer, you may be able to prove that your company unfairly terminated your employment because of your disability. In these cases, your employer may be required to provide coverage during the notice period as if you still had your job.
Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers Today
If you are unable to work for an extended period of time because of a medical condition, so long as you remain employed by your company, your health insurance may remain largely unchanged. But if your employment has been terminated while you’re collecting long-term disability benefits, you may lose your health insurance coverage altogether.
If you have questions about how long-term disability may affect your insurance coverage, or if you have been dismissed from your job and have lost your access to health insurance, Preszler Injury Lawyers may be able to offer useful legal advice. Reach out to Preszler Injury Lawyers today by calling 1-800-JUSTICE.
