Medavie Blue Cross review
Atlantic Canadians & public-sector members
Our rating · #6 of 6 for health insurance
At a glance
The bottom line
Medavie Blue Cross is the largest and most national of Canada’s seven independent Blue Cross plans — an 80-year-old not-for-profit anchored in Atlantic Canada with a broad national group footprint, and the administrator of major federal programs (veterans, RCMP). It offers full individual and group health, dental, vision, drug, paramedical and travel coverage. As a not-for-profit it carries no public standalone financial-strength rating, which is why it scores lower on that pillar despite being financially sound.
- Atlantic Canadians & public-sector members
- No public standalone financial-strength rating
The expert assessment
How our analysts score Medavie Blue Cross’s health insurance — 78.7/100 across six weighted pillars.
As a not-for-profit, Medavie Blue Cross carries no public standalone rating. The A- (AM Best) on the shared Blue Cross Life carrier does NOT transfer to it. Financially sound but unrated at the entity level.
What experts like
- Deep Atlantic roots plus national group reach
- Not-for-profit; administers major federal health programs
- Broad individual + group coverage incl. travel
Watch-outs
- No public standalone financial-strength rating
- Brand easily confused with other regional Blue Cross plans
What Medavie Blue Cross's health insurance policy wording actually says
Read from Medavie Blue Cross Health, Complete Health policy booklet (BRO-280) (BRO-280 03/23; a contract booklet whose eligibility is limited to Atlantic Canada residents), not the brochure. Each answer is the contract's own sentence with its page number.
- No-medical-questions option
- No guaranteed-issue enrolment; an optional Assured Access rider lets an existing member reactivate within 60 days of losing group benefits without underwriting
Read the clause
“Call toll free at 1-888-919-7378 within 60 days of losing group health benefits to have your personal health plan activated. Proof of loss of group health benefits will be required.”
p. 19 - Pre-existing conditions
- Excluded unless declared and not excluded by amendment; defined as any condition that first presented on or before the application, effective or reinstatement date; no fixed lookback or duration
Read the clause
“Pre-existing Condition: An injury, sickness, disease, medication or treatment that first presented itself on or before the date of the application for this policy, the effective date of the policy or the date of the last reinstatement.”
p. 48 - Dental waiting periods
- Essential tier: 6 months for basic, preventive, oral surgery and root canals; major and orthodontics not covered on Essential (Enhanced: 24 months)
Read the clause
“Waiting Periods Basic and Preventive, Oral Surgery and Root Canals - 6 consecutive months”
p. 15 - Dental maximum and coinsurance
- Essential: 70%, no overall maximum; Entry 60% to $500; Enhanced 80%
Read the clause
“Reimbursement level 70% No Overall Benefit Maximum”
p. 15 - Premium changes
- Set by the insurer, based on the oldest participant's age, with one month's notice
Read the clause
“The premiums payable by the member will be established from time to time by Blue Cross. Notification of any change in the amount of premiums will be made 1 month before the effective date of the change.”
p. 42 - Coverage ends at
- None for health and dental; the critical illness rider ends the month before 65
Read the clause
“Termination Month prior to age 65. See provisions for further details.”
p. 17
All 13 questions for Medavie Blue Cross, and the same questions for 6 other insurers →
Medavie Blue Cross health insurance in detail
Scored on our health insurance Expert Score — see the full health insurance ranking.
Ranked #6 of 6 health insurance providers we rate
3.9Good for atlantic Canadians & public-sector members
Medavie Blue Cross is the largest and most national of Canada’s seven independent Blue Cross plans — an 80-year-old not-for-profit anchored in Atlantic Canada with a broad national group footprint, and the administrator of major federal programs (veterans, RCMP). It offers full individual and group health, dental, vision, drug, paramedical and travel coverage. As a not-for-profit it carries no public standalone financial-strength rating, which is why it scores lower on that pillar despite being financially sound.
- Deep Atlantic roots plus national group reach
- Not-for-profit; administers major federal health programs
- Broad individual + group coverage incl. travel
- No public standalone financial-strength rating
- Brand easily confused with other regional Blue Cross plans
How to buy Medavie Blue Cross health insurance
Buy online at medaviebc.ca, through a Blue Cross benefits advisor (1-866-492-2583), or via authorized agents. Complete Health is medically underwritten; Guaranteed Acceptance asks no medical questions and covers pre-existing conditions. If your group plan is ending you have 60 days to activate coverage without further medical questions — proof of loss from your employer is required. Strongest in NS, NB, PEI and NL, with Ontario and Quebec plans offered separately.
Medavie Blue Cross health insurance plans
Complete Health — Entry module
The base level across health and drug modules: 60% coinsurance on drugs and health benefits, paramedical practitioners to $250 per practitioner type per year, vision care $100 per two years, and dental at 60%. Drug coverage carries no overall annual maximum. Medically underwritten.
Best for Healthy buyers who want catastrophic drug protection at the lowest monthly cost.
Not for Regular paramedical users — $250 per practitioner disappears in about five physiotherapy visits.
Complete Health — Essential module
Mid level: 70% coinsurance on drugs and health, paramedical to $400 per practitioner type per year, vision $150 per two years, dental at 70%. Medavie states the Essential and Enhanced dental modules carry no maximum on fillings, extractions and root canals. No overall drug maximum.
Best for Most self-employed buyers — the best balance of coinsurance and premium in the range.
Not for Anyone with heavy vision needs, where $150 per two years is thin.
Complete Health — Enhanced module
Top level: 80% coinsurance on drugs and health benefits, paramedical to $500 per practitioner type per year, vision $300 per two years, and dental at 80% with no maximum on fillings, extractions and root canals. Modules are set independently, so Enhanced drugs can pair with a lower dental tier.
Best for People with ongoing prescriptions and regular paramedical use who want the highest reimbursement rate.
Not for Occasional users, who will pay for coinsurance headroom they never reach.
Guaranteed Acceptance
No medical underwriting and no exclusions — pre-existing conditions are covered. The trade-off is capped dental: 70% coverage up to $1,000 per year combined for fillings, extractions and root canals, with one recall exam, scaling and polishing unit per year. Coverage must be active six months before dental benefits activate. Cancellable with 30 days' notice.
Best for Anyone declined elsewhere or living with a condition that makes underwriting impossible.
Not for Healthy applicants, who will get materially better limits going through underwriting.
Assured Access
Not coverage itself — an option that takes a snapshot of your health today and guarantees future access to an underwritten personal health plan covering conditions that develop later. Group members can activate their personal plan within 60 days of losing group benefits with no further medical questions, and can pause it if they regain group coverage.
Best for Employees with group benefits who expect to go self-employed or retire and want to lock in insurability.
Not for People already without coverage — the value is in buying it before you need it.
What Medavie Blue Cross health insurance customers say
There is no usable review sample for Medavie's individual health plans, so we will not manufacture a score. Both InsurEye pages for Medavie — health insurance and group benefits — carry zero reviews. The BBB rates Medavie A+ and it has been an accredited business since March 2007, but BBB letter grades measure complaint handling and transparency, not policyholder satisfaction, and are not a star rating.
What review volume exists for Medavie is dominated by disability claims and employer group benefits — denied short-term disability, medication pre-authorisation routing errors, a disputed cataract lens claim. Those are group and disability adjudication disputes, filed by people whose employer chose Medavie, and they say almost nothing about buying a Complete Health policy yourself. ComplaintsBoard shows 1.0 stars but from only two reviews, which is statistically meaningless for an insurer covering millions of Atlantic Canadians.
- Not-for-profit. Medavie states every dollar earned goes back into better products, enhanced services and stronger communities rather than to shareholders.
- Modular design. Buyers value being able to set health, drug, dental and critical illness levels independently instead of accepting a fixed bundle.
- No drug maximum. Prescription drug reimbursement carries no overall annual maximum, which removes the ceiling risk most individual plans impose.
- BBB accreditation. An A+ BBB rating and accreditation held continuously since March 2007 indicates a consistent complaint-resolution process.
- Slow response. One reviewer insured over two years wrote that "customer service is poor, and response times are extremely slow."
- Pre-authorisation errors. A complainant described routing errors delaying medication approval, with the pharmacy still showing 0% coverage after written approval.
- Disability denials. Several complaints involve denied short-term disability claims, though these are group benefits disputes rather than personal health plan issues.
- Benefit interpretation. One member had a second cataract lens denied for $1,310 after being told the benefit was a one-lifetime occurrence.
Medavie Blue Cross: frequently asked questions
Can Medavie Blue Cross be trusted to pay out a claim?
We can’t confirm it from an independent rating. As a not-for-profit, Medavie Blue Cross carries no public standalone rating. The A- (AM Best) on the shared Blue Cross Life carrier does NOT transfer to it. Financially sound but unrated at the entity level. That doesn’t mean it won’t pay — but unlike the insurers with a verified rating here, there’s no current third-party financial-strength rating to point to, so we flag it rather than reassure you.
Who is Medavie Blue Cross health insurance a good fit for?
Medavie Blue Cross stands out for atlantic Canadians & public-sector members. Deep Atlantic roots plus national group reach, and not-for-profit; administers major federal health programs. If those things matter most to you, it’s worth a close look; if your priority is something else, compare it against the companies that rate highest on that pillar.
What are the downsides of Medavie Blue Cross health insurance?
The watch-outs we found: no public standalone financial-strength rating; brand easily confused with other regional Blue Cross plans. We spell these out so you can weigh them before buying — every insurer has trade-offs, and knowing them upfront is the point of a real review.
How does Medavie Blue Cross compare to other health insurance companies in Canada?
Medavie Blue Cross ranks #6 of the 6 health insurance providers we scored, at 78.7/100. It’s strongest on coverage & terms and has the most room to improve on financial strength.
How long do I have to wait before Medavie covers my dental work?
It depends on the procedure. Basic and preventive dental, oral surgery and root canals carry a six-month waiting period. Periodontal treatment, major dental and orthodontics carry 24 months. Hearing aids and vision care also wait six months. Crucially, those waiting periods can be waived if you provide proof of comparable coverage within the previous 90 days — which is a strong reason to move directly from a group plan rather than letting coverage lapse. Once you've served a waiting period you won't face it again as long as you stay on your current coverage.
Is Medavie Blue Cross only available in Atlantic Canada?
Medavie is strongest and best known in Atlantic Canada — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador — where it runs region-specific programs like the New Brunswick Seniors Health Program. But it also sells personal health plans in Ontario, marketed as Ontario Blue Cross, and operates Quebec-specific plans with their own policy booklets. The Blue Cross brand in Canada is a federation of independent regional organisations, so the plan you get in British Columbia comes from Pacific Blue Cross, a separate company with different products, pricing and claims handling.
Should I take Guaranteed Acceptance or go through medical underwriting?
Go through underwriting if you can. Guaranteed Acceptance asks no medical questions and covers pre-existing conditions with no exclusions, which is invaluable if you'd otherwise be declined — but you pay for it in limits. Dental is capped at 70% up to just $1,000 per year combined for fillings, extractions and root canals, with one recall exam, scaling and polishing per year, and you still wait six months for dental to activate. By contrast, Complete Health's Essential and Enhanced dental modules carry no maximum on fillings, extractions and root canals at all.
What is Assured Access and is it worth buying while I still have group benefits?
Assured Access takes a snapshot of your health today and guarantees you future access to an underwritten personal health plan that will cover conditions developing after that point. If you have group benefits and hold Assured Access, you can activate a personal plan within 60 days of losing those benefits with no further medical questions — a proof of loss from your employer or benefits provider is required. You can also pause the plan if you regain group coverage. It's insurance against becoming uninsurable, so the time to buy it is while you're healthy and still covered.
Does the Complete Health drug module really have no annual cap?
Yes — prescription drug reimbursement under Complete Health has no overall annual maximum, which sets it apart from most Canadian individual plans that cap drugs somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 a year. What varies by module is the reimbursement rate: 60% at Entry, 70% at Essential and 80% at Enhanced. That structure means your exposure is a percentage of the bill rather than a hard ceiling you fall off, which matters enormously if you're ever prescribed a high-cost biologic. Check the drug formulary and any prior-authorisation requirements before assuming a specific medication is eligible.