Travel Emergencies
As part of the Extended Health Care (EHC) plan, the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) offers comprehensive health and limited dental coverage for emergency expenses while you’re travelling outside your province, or territory, of residence. These Emergency Travel benefits are automatically in effect from the time you cross the provincial, or territorial, border or, if travelling by airplane, when the airplane takes off. These Emergency Travel benefits stop when you cross back into your province of residence, or when the airplane lands.
Coverage for travel emergencies includes medical evacuation or transportation, such as air evacuation, for all travel outside your province of residence. Exception: travel for medical advice or treatment, or as a covered member you are travelling to accompany someone else for medical advice or treatment. For details, visit What's not Covered.
In the event of a medical emergency, immediately call the applicable emergency access number to speak with a medical travel advisor. Please be prepared to quote your group and identification numbers—available on your ASEBP ID card on the My ASEBP Mobile App—as well as travel plan number 679.
- Toll-free in Canada and USA: 1-888-772-2583
- In all other countries, or if you have difficulties with the toll-free number, call collect: 1-403-225-4289
Note that the following is a comprehensive summary of the official, legally binding ASEBP insurance policies and plan documents available through your employer or by contacting us.
What's covered?
Your EmergencyTravel benefits cover reasonable and customary costs for emergency services that are more than the amount paid by your provincial health care insurance plan, as long as the attending, licensed health care provider certifies that they were required for emergency treatment.
Note: The overall maximum per person per incident is $5 million.
Dental
Accidental dental and dental pain relief expenses are covered by your Emergency Travel benefits.
- Charges for repair, extraction and/or replacement of natural teeth or permanently attached artificial teeth damaged by an accidental blow to the mouth, to a maximum of $2,000 per person per accident for services that occur within 182 days of the accident date (an accident report is required from the attending, licensed health care provider)
- Relief of dental pain (excluding root canals) to a maximum of $300 per person per trip. The service must take place in a dental office at least 200 kilometres outside you, or your dependant’s, provincial border.
Emergency Assistance
Emergency travel assistance is covered by your Emergency Travel benefits, including:
- Arranging the communication of urgent messages to your or your dependant’s family members or business partners
- Assisting in locating an appropriate, licensed health care provider, clinic or hospital
- Assisting in locating legal counsel in the event of a serious accident
- Confirming coverage and, if necessary, coordinating payment to the hospital and/or licensed health care provider
- Contacting your or your dependant’s family, business partner or family health care provider
- Coordinating claims processing and negotiating health care provider discounts
- Monitoring medical treatment and keeping your family members informed
- Providing a response in most major languages
To contact a medical travel advisor in the event of an emergency, please see Accessing Emergency Medical Assistance for details.
Family Visits and Accommodation
If you or your dependant are hospitalized for at least 3 days, your Emergency Travel benefits will cover a visit from a family member or friend, if the attending doctor verifies in writing that the situation is serious enough to require a visit.
- One round-trip, economy airfare, by the most direct route from your, or your dependant’s, province or territory of residence
- Extra costs of meals and accommodation up to $250 per day to a maximum of $2,500 per incident
- Must be pre-approved by the medical travel advisor
If you or your dependant are remaining with a travelling companion whose return home is delayed due to illness or injury, your Emergency Travel benefits will cover the following costs, if medical verification and receipts are provided.
- Extra costs of meals and accommodation up to $250 per day to a maximum of $2,500 per incident
Medical Care
Your Emergency Travel benefits cover the following for each covered person:
- Canes, casts, crutches, slings, splints, trusses, walkers and/or temporary rental of a wheelchair, if ordered in writing by a licensed health care provider
- Diagnostic services required to identify the nature and extent of illness or injury, if administered by a licensed health care provider
- Doctor and surgeon (who is not related to you or your dependant) charges for services rendered, less any amount already covered by your provincial health care plan
- Medical services and supplies
- Miscellaneous expenses while hospitalized to a maximum of $50 per day and $500 per hospital stay
- Nursing services provided by a registered nurse during and immediately after hospitalization, if ordered in writing by a licensed health care provider
- Outpatient services in a hospital, less any amount already covered by your provincial health care insurance plan
- Prescription drugs for an emergency, only if they have a Canadian equivalent and are submitted with a doctor’s or licensed health care provider’s prescription and description of the emergency
- Semi-private hospital accommodation, less any amount already covered by your provincial health care insurance plan
- Services, including X-rays, requested by chiropractors, podiatrists/chiropodists and physiotherapists to a maximum of $300 per person per trip
Medical Evacuation or Transportation
Various transportation expenses are covered by your Emergency Travel benefits, including medical evacuation. To be medically evacuated, you or your dependant must medically require evacuation or the cost of treatment must be expected to be higher than the cost of transporting you or your dependant back home.
- Air evacuation between hospitals or for hospital admission in your or your dependant’s province of residence, at ASEBP’s discretion, or when ordered by the attending doctor or the medical travel advisor and approved by ASEBP
- Air transportation to or from the nearest qualified medical facility able to provide medical care, only in the event that normal ground transportation is not available or when air transportation is in the best medical interest of you or your dependant, as determined by a licensed health care provider
- One round-trip, economy airfare, overnight hotel and meal expenses for a medical attendant or non-medical escort, if they’re required to travel with you or your dependant as ordered in writing by the attending doctor, medical travel advisor or commercial airline
- One-way, economy airfare to your or your dependant’s home, when advised in writing by the attending doctor or the medical travel advisor so that you or your dependant can receive immediate medical attention; this assumes that you or your dependant are not holding a valid, open-return air ticket and also applies to one family member who is travelling with you or your dependant at the time of illness or accidental injury
- Professional ambulance services to or from the nearest qualified medical facility able to provide medical care, if the ambulance is licensed to operate in the location where the service occurred
Over-age Dependants
If you have an over-age dependant studying abroad, visit Updating Over-age Dependant Information about how their Emergency Travel benefits may be affected.
Return of Deceased
If you or your dependant pass away while travelling, your Emergency Travel benefits will cover certain costs.
- A family member or friend’s round-trip economy airfare, by the most direct route from your, or your dependant’s, province of residence, to identify the deceased, when necessary, prior to the release of the body
- The cost of preparing and transporting the deceased home to a maximum of $7,000
- The cost of cremation or burial at the location of death to a maximum of $2,500
Return of Dependent Children
If you, or your dependant, are admitted to hospital for longer than 48 hours or are medically returned to your province of residence, your Emergency Travel benefits will return your dependent children home.
- One-way, economy airfare home
- Expenses for an escort may be covered, at ASEBP’s discretion
- Must be pre-approved by the medical travel advisor
Return of Personal Items
If you or your dependant have returned home by air ambulance or have passed away, your Emergency Travel benefits will return your luggage or personal items to you or your family.
- Up to a maximum cost of $500 per person
- Must be pre-approved by the medical travel advisor
Return of Pet(s)
If you or your dependant have returned home by air ambulance, your Emergency Travel benefits will return your pet(s) that were travelling with you or your dependant home.
- One-way transportation up to a maximum cost of $500 per trip
- Must be pre-approved by the medical travel advisor
Return of Vehicle
If you or your dependant are hospitalized for at least three days, your Emergency Travel benefits will return your or your dependant’s vehicle (private or rental) home or to the nearest appropriate rental agency.
- Only if you or your dependant are unable to operate the vehicle due to unexpected illness or injury and if your travelling companion is also unable to do so
- Up to a maximum of $1,000 per person
- If the vehicle is inoperable due to an accident (official police report is required), one-way economy airfare is covered
- Must be pre-approved by the medical travel advisor
Trip Duration Limitation
You, and your dependants, are covered up to 100% coverage of eligible Emergency Travel benefits which can be accessed over multiple trips per year, up to a maximum duration of 183 days per trip. Note: the overall maximum per person per incident is $5 million.
This includes a 72-hour extension for medical reasons or delays caused by a common carrier (airplane, bus, taxi, train), traffic accident, or mechanical failure of a private vehicle.
The 183 days aligns with how long Alberta residents can temporarily remain outside of Canada, or their province of residence, on a per trip basis, and maintain their provincial health care. This maximum trip duration of 183 days resets upon entry to province of residence.
Vaccines
ASEBP provides coverage for certain preventative vaccines, including some travel vaccines like Twinrix and Havrix. See Drugs for details.
Resources
What's not covered?
The following list includes items not covered by your Emergency Travel benefits as well as circumstances in which your EmergencyTravel benefits would not be paid. Note: this list is not exhaustive.
- Accommodation, living, parking and travel expenses (outside of what is listed under What’s Covered)
- Additional costs for medical supplies purchased from providers inside and outside Canada (e.g. shipping, duty)—unless related to oxygen and supplies required for its use
- All expenses incurred as a result of conduct that would constitute an indictable offence within Canada
- Baggage and cancellation insurance
- Coffin, in the event you or your dependant pass away
- Interest charges on any item or service
- Non-emergency prescription medication and hospital accommodations
- Non-emergency services normally covered by your provincial health care plan (e.g. doctor visits, surgery) for dependants attending school outside of their province of residence
- If expenses are fully covered under any other benefits you or your dependant may have; payment by all benefit providers cannot exceed 100 per cent of the eligible expense
- If expenses are due to:
- Abuse of alcohol, medication, non-prescription drugs or toxic substances
- Conducting or trying to conduct a criminal act under the legislation of the local region
- Directly participating in a revolt, a declared or undeclared war or act of war, the hostile action of any country’s armed forces, hijacking or terrorism, a riot, civil commotion or any other act of aggression or service in the armed forces
- Driving a motorized vehicle while impaired by drugs, toxic substances or a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08
- If expenses are incurred in a country, region or city for which the Government of Canada has issued a formal travel advisory; the advisory must state that Canadians should avoid non-essential travel to that location and be issued prior to your departure date
- Exception: if the incident is unrelated to the travel advisory, expenses are covered
- If hospitalization or treatment occurs in a hospital other than a general active treatment hospital (e.g. chronic care hospital, convalescent hospital, nursing home or health spa)
- If the medical travel advisor is not contacted within 24 hours of hospitalization
- If travel is booked or started contrary to medical advice or if medical attention is anticipated during the travel period
- If you or your dependant are medically able to be transferred to another hospital or returned home but refuse to comply with the transfer request, ASEBP is no longer responsible for any expenses, whether related to the initial incident or not
- If you or your dependant travel outside your province or territory of residence primarily for hospitalization or services in connection with:
- A “rest cure” or travel for health
- Cosmetic procedures
- Experimental or unconventional procedures
- General medical exams for "check-up" purposes
- Ongoing maintenance of an existing medical condition
- Rehabilitation or ongoing care for alcohol, drug or any other substance abuse
- Seeking medical advice or a second opinion
- Surgery
- Treatment, even if the trip is on the medical recommendation of a licensed health care provider, including any claim arising during the trip even if unrelated to the reason for travel
- For example, if an individual travels outside Canada to access treatment for a heart condition and requires emergency medical treatment due to a car accident, no claims will be covered for the car accident
- Exclusion of coverage extends to any ASEBP covered member, including listed dependants, if primary intent of travel is to seek medical treatment or advice. For example, if listed dependants travel in a car driven by the individual who is on their way to a pre-scheduled appointment for medical advice/treatment and they get into a car accident along the way, claims will not be covered as the purpose of being in the car is the same for all dependant passengers.
- Pregnancy or childbirth complications, including treatment for the newborn, if the medical emergency occurs after 32 weeks of gestation
Additional Information
Accessing Emergency Medical Assistance
In the event of a medical emergency, immediately call the applicable emergency access number to speak with a medical travel advisor. Please be prepared to quote your group and identification numbers—available on your ASEBP ID card on the My ASEBP Mobile App—as well as travel plan number 679.
- Toll-free in Canada and USA: 1-888-772-2583
- In all other countries, or if you have difficulties with the toll-free number, call collect: 1-403-225-4289
Coverage Under Multiple Benefit Lines
Certain benefits may be covered by both your Emergency Travel benefits and Accidental Death & Dismemberment benefits, such as transportation costs in the event you pass away. In these situations, ASEBP will coordinate the payment of benefits between the benefit lines. The maximum benefit paid will be based on the eligible expense’s highest maximum.
Dependants Enrolled in School Abroad
Dependants attending school outside of Canada are only eligible for Emergency Travel benefits. These dependants are not covered for non-emergency services that would normally be covered by their provincial health care insurance plan (e.g. doctor visits, surgery).
If you have an over-age dependant studying abroad, please visit the Updating Over-age Dependant Information section on our website for information about how their emergency travel benefits may be affected.
Provincial Health Coverage
You are still covered under your provincial health care insurance plan when you are travelling within Canada. Expenses incurred while travelling outside Canada are covered by your Emergency Travel benefits only after coverage limits under the provincial health care insurance plan have been reached.
ASEBP coverage includes Canada-wide emergencies, including medical evacuation or transportation, such as air evacuation.
Travelling with Prescription Drugs
Before you leave on a trip outside of Canada, you should refill any prescriptions you may need while you’re away. If you need more than a 100-day supply of your prescription, you’ll need to submit the Travel Supply of Prescription Drugs Request . See Drugs for details.
Trip Interruption and Cancellation Insurance
ASEBP covered members can receive a 10 per cent discount off Trip Interruption and Cancellation insurance offered through the Alberta Blue Cross (ABC). This top-up coverage is optional, fully administered through ABC, and complements ASEBP’s emergency travel benefit changes that will take effect January 1, 2024. As an independent product offering through ABC, this insurance is not part of your ASEBP emergency travel benefits and does not affect your ASEBP benefit premiums. Find more information in our this ASEBP news article.