Calgary living?

Travel Info
I am moving to Calgary in a few weeks. I am wondering about getting a doctor once i'm out there. I've been told there is no health care out there and coming from Ontario I am just used to going to the doctor's whenever I need to. My question is, do you have to pay to see a doctor in Calgary?

Travel Tips

As long as you have a valid Ontario health card you won't have to pay to see a doctor. You should know that your OHIP is only valid for the first 3 months of your stay in Alberta. It would make sense to apply soon after arriving so that your Ontario card doesn't have time to expire.

The other thing you should know is that in Alberta you must pay for health coverage unlike Ontario where it's employer and provencially paid. You must also pay for extended health care coverage such as Blue Cross if you do not have employer paid coverage. It is not mandatory but even the basic pkg makes sense. Depending on your last year's income you may or may not be eligible for premium assistance - it's income geared.

This place to find out all the information and download the forms (you can't do it online) can be found at:

http://www.health.gov.ab.ca/ahcip/ahcip_...

You can even download the premium assistance forms at that website.

As for finding a doctor - most communities have walk-in Medi Centres where you can at least get immediate assistance for a problem. You may find them a bit impersonable but they do the job and some are open quite late. As for finding a family doctor - it's tough as most doctors aren't taking new patients. Calling Capitol Health - (found in the front of the phone book or on online) - to give you a list of doctors taking new patients.
http://www.capitalhealth.ca/default.htm...
I believe Calgary also has a community line 211 where any kind of information about Calgary can be accessed.

Hope this is of assistance to you. Good Luck.

Others
I moved to Banff last year for a bit and no I didn't have to pay to see a doctor and I went a few times...concussion, allergic reaction and I rolled down a mountain my first time snowboarding. If I remember correctly, you can use your health card from another province up to 6 months but after that you need to get one from Alberta.
Before you worry about a doctor, I hope you have looked into getting a place to live. The vacancy rate for rentals is like 1.5%. This city is growing too fast to accomadate all the newcomers. Good luck and welcome to Cow Town.
I work for a specialist and here are the answers you are looking for:

Almost every community has a walk-in clinic. However, I would only use those for immediate assistance. To find a family doctor, go to the following web-site to see which doctors are accepting new patients.

http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/...

The click on the "Find a Doctor" link. You will then be able to search by quadrant of the city, rural, alphabetically or by gender of doctor. These are the lists of doctors that are accepting new patients.

If you need to see a specialist you will have to find a family doctor or go to a walk-in clinic. Most specialists only accept new patients by referrals from another doctor. Usually the wait time for a specialist is 4 to 6 weeks.

As long as you have a valid Ontario health card you won't have to pay to see a doctor. You should know that your OHIP is only valid for the first 3 months of your stay in Alberta. It would make sense to apply soon after arriving so that your Ontario card doesn't have time to expire.

You also need to know that in Alberta you must pay for health coverage. You must also pay for extended health care coverage such as Blue Cross if you do not have employer paid coverage.

This place to find out all the information is:

http://www.health.gov.ab.ca/ahcip/ahcip...

Good Luck!
no i don't think so....btw calgary is a very cute place!
We are the only province in this country with 0 debt. So living in Alberta is pretty sweet right now. No, it is not true that there are no docotors here. We are a booming city of a million people. There is always a doctor who is willing to take on new patients! And if you have proper health coverage (basic health care) then you won't be charged to see a doctor. It is illegal to NOT have health coverage so if you don't have it now in Ontario then dont expect a free checkup.
My answers a little bit shorter... It's very similar to Ontario. But better off go with the experts.