AHCIP eligibility

Eligible residents

You are eligible for Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) coverage if you are:

• legally entitled to be in and remain in Canada and make your permanent home in Alberta
• committed to being physically present in Alberta for at least 183 days in any 12-month period
• not claiming residency or obtaining benefits under a claim of residency in another province, territory or country
• any other person deemed by the regulations to be a resident or temporary resident, not including a tourist, transient or visitor to Alberta

When you move to Alberta from another province or country, there may be a waiting period before you become eligible for coverage under the AHCIP.

If you move to Alberta from another country, and have an immigration document from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, you may be eligible for AHCIP coverage.

Learn more about:

• moving to Alberta
• temporary residents
• students and foreign students
• how to apply for AHCIP coverage

Non-eligible residents

Non-eligible residents include:

• members of the Canadian Armed Forces
• federal penitentiary inmates
• refugee claimants
• refused or failed refugee claimants
• people with expired immigration documents

Canadian Armed Forces and federal penitentiary inmates receive coverage from the federal government.

Dependants of non-eligible residents who reside in Alberta must be registered with the AHCIP.

Canadian children of refugee claimants, refused or failed refugee claimants, and those with expired immigration documents may be entitled to coverage under the AHCIP providing they reside in Alberta and meet specific requirements.

Find out if your child is eligible.

Dependants

Dependants include:

• married spouses – must register together
• separated spouses – may register together or separately
• divorced spouses – must register separately
• adult interdependent partners – may register together or separately
• single children under the age of 21 and wholly dependent on the parent(s), including adopted children, foster children (if an income tax deduction was claimed) and wards of the court
• in cases of separation or divorce, the custodial parent registers the children
• in cases of joint custody, children are registered on the account of one or the other parent, but not both, as agreed to by both parents
• single children who are 21 years of age or older and wholly dependent on their parent(s) because of physical or mental disabilities
• single children who are under 25 years of age and in full-time attendance at an accredited educational institute

Learn about status changes and updating your health account information.

Denied or cancelled coverage

Your AHCIP application may be rejected or your existing AHCIP coverage may be cancelled if the supporting documents you provided with your application are not acceptable, expire, or you do not meet eligibility requirements.

Learn about supporting documents.

Request an eligibility review for health care coverage

If you are denied coverage, you may request to have your application and documents reviewed.

As part of the eligibility review, your application along with any new supporting documents you submit will be considered.

It is your responsibility to demonstrate your eligibility for AHCIP coverage. Make sure you provide sufficient evidence to the AHCIP office.

Send your appeal letter to the AHCIP office

To request an eligibility review, write an appeal letter to the AHCIP office. Include the reasons for your request and any additional supporting evidence.

Mail your letter and supporting documents (photocopies) to:

Alberta Health
Attention: Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, Eligibility Review
PO Box 1360, Station Main
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 2N3

Eligibility review decisions

When an eligibility review has taken place and a decision has been made to deny or cancel AHCIP coverage, you will be sent a letter outlining the legislative, regulatory and/or policy reasons for the decision.

If you are not satisfied with the decision from the eligibility review, the letter will also contain information on the process for requesting an administrative review of the decision.