Medical tourism—traveling to another country for healthcare—has become a significant phenomenon affecting Canadian healthcare in multiple directions. Canadians may travel abroad seeking care not available, not timely, or not affordable at home. Foreign patients may come to Canada for Canadian expertise or seek publicly funded care to which they're not entitled. The medical tourism landscape raises questions about healthcare adequacy, queue-jumping, commercialization of care, and the responsibilities of healthcare systems to their own populations versus the global healthcare marketplace.
Canadians Going Abroad
Some Canadians seek care outside Canada, for various reasons. Wait times for certain procedures—particularly elective orthopedic surgery, some cancer treatments, or diagnostic imaging—drive some patients to seek faster access elsewhere. Treatments not available in Canada, whether not yet approved, not covered by public plans, or not offered by Canadian providers, prompt medical travel. Sometimes cost motivates travel—procedures cheaper abroad than out-of-pocket Canadian prices.
Destinations vary with purpose. Americans seek Canadian procedures for cost savings; Canadians seeking speed might go to the US where payment eliminates wait. Dental tourism to Mexico or medical procedures in Asia offer significant cost advantages. Experimental treatments in various countries attract patients seeking options beyond standard care.
Risks accompany medical tourism. Quality standards vary across countries. Complications may be difficult to address when patients return home. Continuity of care is disrupted when procedures occur outside the usual healthcare relationship. Patients may not fully understand what they're getting or the credentials of providers they're seeing.
Provincial coverage for medical tourism is generally limited. Planned procedures abroad typically aren't covered by provincial health plans; patients pay out of pocket. Some provinces have out-of-country prior approval processes for treatments not available in Canada, but coverage is not automatic. The financial burden of medical tourism falls on patients who undertake it.
Foreign Patients in Canada
Canada receives patients from abroad seeking Canadian healthcare. Medical tourists may pay for services—cosmetic procedures, fertility treatments, or other services. Others may be seeking to access publicly funded care through various means—giving birth in Canada, establishing residency to qualify for provincial coverage, or fraudulently claiming entitlement to care.
Birth tourism—coming to Canada to give birth so children receive Canadian citizenship—has been controversial. Hospitals provide medically necessary care regardless of citizenship status, and children born in Canada are citizens. The practice raises questions about healthcare costs, citizenship policy, and whether Canadian healthcare should serve as pathway to Canadian status.
International patient programs at some Canadian hospitals market Canadian care to paying foreign patients. These programs can generate revenue and showcase Canadian medical expertise. Critics worry about creating two-tier systems where paying foreign patients receive priority over Canadian patients waiting for publicly funded care.
Systemic Implications
Medical tourism reflects and affects healthcare systems. Canadians leaving for faster care indicates Canadian capacity or access problems. Foreign patients coming for quality indicates Canadian healthcare reputation. The flows provide information about what different systems do well and poorly.
Resource questions arise when medical tourism scales. If Canadian physicians treat foreign patients privately, does this reduce their availability for Canadian patients? If Canadians seek care abroad, does this reduce pressure to improve domestic wait times? Medical tourism interacts with domestic healthcare capacity in complex ways.
Ethical considerations include questions about whether wealthy patients should be able to buy faster access than public systems provide, whether Canadian resources should serve foreign patients when domestic needs exist, and whether medical tourism exploitation of price or quality differences across countries is appropriate.
Questions for Consideration
Should Canadians going abroad for faster care be seen as healthcare system failure? How should Canadian hospitals balance serving foreign patients against domestic needs? Is birth tourism a healthcare problem or an immigration policy issue? What obligations do patients have to use domestic healthcare versus seeking care wherever they prefer?