What’s the Best Health Insurance in Alberta?

Health insurance in Alberta 101

Provincial health care in Alberta is free for eligible residents, but some health services are not covered. Many Albertans supplement public plans with private coverage to gain access to better drug, dental, vision, and paramedical healthcare services.

What’s covered by the government: In Alberta, medically necessary physician and hospital services are covered under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP). For most seniors’ drugs and a few ancillary items, coverage is provided through Coverage for Seniors (Alberta Blue Cross). Dental and optical assistance are separate, income-based programs.

What’s not: Unless you qualify for income-based assistance (or you have group benefits through your employer), you and your family are probably going to need private health insurance to plug the gaps in your drug, dental and vision coverage. Not to mention the cost of paramedical services, mental health professionals, and medical equipment.

How private insurance fills Alberta’s coverage gaps

Private health plans cover services that AHCIP does not, like prescription drugs, dental, vision, and extended health care—so you can reduce out-of-pocket costs for necessary care.

What’s the best health insurance in Alberta?

We’ve identified the best private health insurance plans in Alberta by analyzing over 1,700 quotes covering 50+ private health insurance products from the seven biggest providers in Canada, sourced from official product websites and supplemented with customer ratings from Google.

To identify the best plans for the average Albertan, we focused on plans with: 

• Excellent coverage for adults: Adults aged 18–14 are most overlooked by government health care coverage, making them prime candidates for private health insurance. 
• Complete coverage: We prioritized insurance options that include coverage for both prescription drugs and dental services in addition to other extended health benefits. 
• Mid-tier pricing: We focused on plans with mid-range pricing that’s competitive in the industry in order to deliver the highest value for the largest number of Canadians. 

Non-replacement plans: We’ve recommended plans designed for Canadians without existing workplace health benefits, rather than those seeking to replace previous employer-sponsored plans.

^{* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta as of December 2025.}

^{** Comparison reflects the total amount of prescription drug, dental, vision, paramedical, mental health, accidental dental, and ambulance coverage versus the industry average for comparable plans.}

1. Guaranteed Issue Classic from PolicyMe

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta. 

‍Our expert take: PolicyMe’s Classic plan offers the best balance between coverage and cost savings, with especially generous offerings in the areas of mental health and paramedical services. For Albertans in search of basic supplementary health coverage at a competitive price, this plan is easy to get and reasonably affordable.

Pros:

Cons:

Available products from PolicyMe: 

• Guaranteed Economic, Classic, and Advanced: A series of guaranteed health insurance plans with comprehensive coverage for prescription drugs, dental care, and more
• Dental Care: A guaranteed health insurance plan with no coverage for prescription drugs
• Protect Economic, Classic, and Advanced: A series of replacement health insurance plans with comprehensive coverage for prescription drugs, dental care, and more

2. Health Insurance Plan with Dental Insurance Plan from ScotiaLife

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta.

Our expert take: It’s not the best option for seniors or those with urgent dental and vision needs, but ScotiaLife’s health and dental coverage is a low-priced, straightforward option for many Scotiabank customers. 

Pros:

Cons:

Available products from ScotiaLife: 

• Health Insurance Plan: A guaranteed no-dental health insurance plan with a single dental option available only to Scotiabank customers, their spouses, and dependent children

3. ComboPlus Enhanced Plan from Manulife

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta.

Our expert take: Manulife offers a wide range of private health and dental insurance plans. We think the ComboPlus Basic plan offers the best value for money for families in Alberta, with a surprisingly long list of customization options to tailor your coverage to your personal needs. 

Pros:

Cons:

Available products from Manulife: 

• Flexcare ComboPlus Starter, Basic, and Enhanced Plan: A series of complete health insurance plans with guaranteed options.
• Flexcare DentalPlus Basic and Enhanced Plan: A pair of guaranteed, no-drug health insurance plans.
• Flexcare DrugPlus Basic and Enhanced Plan: A pair of no-dental health insurance plans.
• FollowMe Basic, Enhanced, Enhanced Plus, and Premiere Plan: A series of complete replacement health insurance plans.
• Guaranteed Issue Enhanced: A complete, premium health insurance plan with guaranteed acceptance.

4. ExtendaPlan with Basic Prescription Drugs and Dental Care from GMS

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta.

Our expert take: GMS’s highly customizable ExtendaPlan gives Albertans a ton of options at a reasonable price. The caveat: waiting periods and limits may make this coverage less usable than other plans and might not be a good fit if you’re trying to use your coverage immediately. 

Pros:

Cons:

Available products from GMS: 

• BasicPlan, ExtendaPlan, and OmniPlan: A series of guaranteed, no-drug health insurance plans with complete coverage options.
• EssentialPlan, ChoicePlan, and PremierPlan: A series of replacement health insurance plans with no-drug and complete coverage options.

5. Freedom to Choose Select Plus from Canada Life

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta.

Our expert take: Canada Life’s Freedom to Choose Select Plus plan offers 100% paramedical coverage—a rare benefit with excellent value to some shoppers, though this coverage is subject to limits of $40/visit and $400/profession. The plan also includes generous prescription drug coverage and is an overall good (if a little pricey) choice for an underwritten healthcare plan. 

Pros:

Cons:

Available products from Canada Life: 

• Freedom to Choose Guaranteed, Guaranteed Plus, and Guaranteed Elite: A series of guaranteed and replacement health insurance plans with complete and no-dental coverage options.
• Freedom to Choose Select, Select Guaranteed, Select Plus, and Select Elite: A series of health insurance plans with guaranteed, underwritten, complete, and high-drug options.

Compare the top 3 health insurance plans in Alberta

* Premiums reflect the approximate monthly cost for an 18-year-old adult living in Alberta.

How much does health insurance in Alberta cost?

According to Statistics Canada, Albertan households spent an average of $3,377 on out-of-pocket medical expenses in 2023, including private medical insurance premiums. Nationwide, the average Canadian household spent $3,087 in the same year. 

With a private health insurance plan from PolicyMe, the same household could save an estimated $1,807 per year on drugs, dental, vision, paramedical visits, and medical equipment with our top pick, the Guaranteed Issue Classic Plan. 

As for what you’ll pay, here’s a comparison of monthly health insurance quotes for PolicyMe’s top-rated health insurance policies in Alberta:

* Prices reflect the approximate costs for residents in the relevant age group in Alberta. They were last updated December 20th, 2025.

What does the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan cover?

By law, the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) must cover necessary medical care in Canada. As long as you have a valid provincial health card, you’re covered for 100% of:

Although they aren’t covered under the AHCIP, ambulance services are heavily subsidized in Alberta. For medically necessary trips, Alberta residents are typically billed a standard ground ambulance user fee (commonly $385); air ambulance is billed at full cost. Actual charges can vary by circumstance (e.g., assessed-but-not-transported). 

Outside of the country, you may be covered for some emergency and non-emergency physician and hospital services, but only up to the amount the AHCIP would normally pay if you’d received them in Canada. It’s highly recommended to seek travel insurance before going abroad.

Check the table below for a quick overview of the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, what it covers, and for whom:

The province also offers the following extended health benefits for Albertans with low income:

Depending on your income, you could also meet the eligibility requirements for subsidized premiums to the Non-Group Coverage plan. This will reduce the monthly cost from $63.50/month to $44.45/month for individuals, and $118/month to $82.60/month for families.

How to find the best health insurance for you

The secret to buying health insurance is to know your needs and do your research. Here are 5 steps to success and the most important questions at each stage:

1. Find your existing coverage: Take a look at your province’s public healthcare plan and your employer’s group health benefits to identify the coverage you already have. Are you using it completely?
2. Tally your existing costs: Add up your health out-of-pocket expenses during the past year (including the receipts for prescription drugs, dental work, and medical equipment) and any successful health insurance claims. Is there anything left over? How much?
3. Identify coverage gaps: These could be leftover expenses from successful claims or services that aren’t covered by public or group healthcare. How much money did you lose to coverage gaps last year? If you divide the total by 12, what’s the monthly cost?
4. Request health insurance quotes: Now that you know your coverage gaps, you can start to look for plans to address them. Do you need supplemental health insurance, vision, dental, paramedical services, or do you want to maximize your covered services? Are your expenses eligible? Are the premiums lower than the monthly cost of your coverage gaps?
5. Calculate your savings: Read the fine print regarding each plan’s maximums, covered services, and fees. If you had bought it last year, how much money would you have paid in premiums? How much money would you have saved?

Don’t forget to take a hard look at the customer reviews for different health insurance companies. Good customer service is a necessity for making efficient use of your coverage—not to mention getting reimbursement when you need it!

FAQ: Best health insurance in Alberta

Prices listed on this page are based on information available as of October 2025. The prices shown are for general reference only and may vary based on factors like your age, location, and product selection.