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Health Care and Medical Insurance

Almost every Nunavut community has a health facility. Iqaluit has a hospital, while other communities have a health centre. Health centres are staffed by nurses equipped to treat minor emergencies and illnesses.

Nurses are on duty at health centres during regular business hours weekdays and on call for emergencies 24 hours a day. Patients requiring more serious medical attention are flown to a regional centre or to a larger community outside Nunavut.

Regional Centres
The Baffin Regional Hospital in Iqaluit is open 24 hours a day. It handles most local health care needs and also serves patients brought in from smaller Baffin communities. For more specialized treatment, patients are flown to Ottawa. Iqaluit also has a dental clinic and an optical outlet. The dental clinic is equipped to handle most dental emergencies. The optical outlet can make minor repairs to glasses and dispense new ones. This may take two weeks or more.

Rankin Inlet has a health centre and a birthing centre. In serious medical emergencies, patients are normally flown to a hospital facility in Churchill, Manitoba or directly to a hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Rankin Inlet also has a dental clinic..

Cambridge Bay has a Health Centre. Serious cases are flown to the Stanton Regional Hospital in Yellowknife. Cambridge Bay also has a dental office.

Communities Outside the Regional Centres
There are medical staff in the small Baffin communities. Serious cases patients are flown to the hospital in Iqaluit. In the Kivalliq Region, patients are flown either to Churchill or Winnipeg. Kitikmeot patients are flown directly to Yellowknife. Doctors and dentists visit the smaller communities periodically. A few communities, such as Kugluktuk, Baker Lake and Gjoa Haven, have their own dental clinics.

Health Insurance
Visitors, students, transient and temporary workers from elsewhere in Canada are not eligible to enroll in the NWT Health Care Plan. Your provincial or Yukon health plan will cover most medical costs incurred in Nunavut. If you've been billed personally for health services, you should seek reimbursement from your provincial or Yukon health care plan within six months. Visitors are not covered by the NWT Health Care Plan and must pay up front for services.

The NWT Health Care Plan does not cover travellers and non-residents for ground or air ambulance (medevac) services. Ambulance services used while in Nunavut will be billed at full cost. Travel for medical services will also be charged to non-residents, even if ordered by a physician. In an emergency, the NWT plan will cover the bill, but the costs will be charged back to the patient. Air ambulance services are extremely expensive and can cost thousands of dollars. Check your coverage before you leave home and purchase supplemental coverage where necessary.

Medication and Vaccinations
Visitors who require regular medication should carry enough with them to last the length of their stay. You should always allow extra for unexpected delays. Community health nurses recommend a month's supply for a two-week visit. Medication should be carried on your person, not packed in luggage. There are two pharmacies in Nunavut, one in Iqaluit and one in Rankin Inlet. The Kitikmeot communities closest pharmacies are in Yellowknife. Health centres in the communities carry basic drugs, but should not be counted on to have specialized medication.

Generally, visitors to the North do not require immunizations other than those needed to get into Canada from other countries. Parks Canada recommends that visitors to Ellesmere Island National Park obtain precautionary vaccinations against rabies and tetanus before coming to the park. If you are planning any kind of isolated adventure trip, this is a wise precaution to take. It is also a good idea to make sure all your normal immunizations are up to date before coming north.