Letter to Fifth Estate / CBC: LTD?

Please read my Research Paper(1st attachment) and the below example of how most Canadians are unaware of their deficient employer health plans.

In 2010 at the young age of 55 I experienced a disabling stroke at no fault of my own. I received excellent Acute or initial treatment and rehab while in hospital and rehab hospital.

Once discharged home I was denied much needed government funded rehab because of my age of 55. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his government didn’t care they were discriminating by age with denied healthcare! I went on Long Term Disability(LTD) with my employer(AECOM) Insurance company and relied upon my employer health Plan to purchase private and expensive rehab programs.

After being on LTD for two years and still attempting to recover, my employer health plan was automatically terminated in accordance with Policy provisions, meaning I no longer had the ability to secure rehab with employer health insurance and insured medications. I was forced to prematurely cash in retirement savings to purchase private and expensive stroke rehab programs. Post-stroke patients without retirement savings simply go without treatment/rehab in Canada. Because I was on the Family Plan with Sun-Life Insurance this meant that my wife and dependent children also lost their health coverage and insured access to medications and dental/eye care. Fortunately, my two children were able to sign up with the Health Plan at their Universities.

Since 2010 I have learned that most organizations in Canada have the same deficient employer health insurance plans as described above. With deficient government funded rehab programs, working Canadians need employer health plans to compensate for government failures in a supposed public healthcare system.

Between 2010 and 2020 I spent $20K per year to purchase private and expensive stroke rehab programs not covered by any insurance, private or public and funded by prematurely cashing in my retirement plan. Retirement savings should be for retirement and not for funding healthcare in a supposed public system!

Most Canadians are not prepared financially for the deficiencies in public and employer health plans in the case of a disabling stroke or other major medical events.

My message to working Canadians is simple:

“Check the fine print in your employer health plans, especially related to Long Term Disability and make sure you have $250,000.00 in your Savings Account or Critical Illness Insurance for this amount at all times, in case of a disabling stroke or other major medical event. Most employer Critical Illness Plans are inadequate and one should investigate purchasing additional insurance.”

The above message needs to be shared with all working Canadians! Unfortunately saving $250K is unrealistic for most Canadians.

Out of interest I’ve included a summary of my personal journey(2nd attachment).

You never know how good your insurance is until you need it!

The above clearly demonstrates how employer health plans are totally inadequate in case of a major medical event in Canada and why our public healthcare system needs a major overhaul!

Most Canadians are unaware that employer health benefits may eventually be terminated in case of a major medical event.

I ask the Fifth Estate to investigate and produce a story on this subject. Working Canadians need to be educated on this subject!