Survey shows coverage and timely access diverge for plan members
Forty-five percent of Canadians with coverage beyond their provincial plan said those benefits make no difference to how easily they access timely care, against 43 percent who said their coverage makes it easier.
The Space Between Care, a report from Toronto-based virtual care platform Maple, found 64 percent of respondents have benefits beyond provincial coverage.
Men were more likely than women to say those benefits make timely care easier for them or their family, at 49 percent against 36 percent.
Canadians aged 55 and older were twice as likely to lack extended health benefits, at 45 percent, compared with 23 percent of those aged 18 to 34 and 21 percent of those aged 35 to 54.
Among those with chronic conditions and access to extended benefits, respondents with chronic pain reported the lowest figure, at 37 percent saying their benefits make timely care easier.
Respondents with ADHD or a neurodevelopmental condition were more likely than average to have extended benefits available, at 71 percent, with 47 percent saying those benefits translate to easier access.
Maple’s report cites 2024 HR Reporter data showing that just 5 percent of Canadian workers with employer-provided benefits identify them as their go-to for well-being support, that 26 percent either do not have or are unsure whether they have such benefits, and that 24 percent of those who do say they do not know much about their coverage.
Worldwide employer spending on well-being benefits fell 13 percent between 2022 and 2025, according to HR Reporter figures in the report.
Eighty-five percent of respondents reported at least one health-care situation in the past two years that left them waiting, coordinating care, managing symptoms or medications, or uncertain about next steps.
Sixty-three percent of those affected felt personally responsible for keeping care moving forward, against 13 percent who said responsibility was shared with their providers.
Fifty-six percent reported not receiving adequate updates while waiting.
“Health care doesn’t stop when an appointment ends, but for too many Canadians, that’s when they’re left to figure things out on their own,” said Brett Belchetz, Maple’s chief executive officer and co-founder.
Informal caregiving was reported by 36 percent of respondents overall and 53 percent of those aged 35 to 54.
Half of those managing care for someone else did not feel supported between health-care interactions, 40 percent did not know who was responsible for arranging the next step and 39 percent did not understand what that step would be.
Twenty-three percent of respondents reported being less productive or less able to concentrate at work or school, 18 percent missed work or school and 15 percent lost income or incurred additional expenses.
Long-term disability claims involving mental health are the most common type, at 40 percent of all claims in 2024, according to Sun Life data cited in the report.
Deloitte’s Health Productivity Gap framework estimates that reducing the caregiving burden on families and informal carers by 25 percent could produce economic gains of over $12bn.
Eighty-one percent of respondents said reliable round-the-clock technology-enabled care would help reduce the burden between appointments, and 63 percent said technology would be most helpful in coordinating providers, prescriptions and results.
Only 29 percent of primary care providers in Canada currently share patient information electronically outside their practice, according to Health Canada figures in the report.
Bill S-5, the proposed Connected Care for Canadians Act, would mandate common interoperability standards.
