Private insurance
If you are a resident of a Canadian province and have provincial health care coverage, many IWK Health services are covered by your provincial health plan. However, certain procedures, supplies, or preferred accommodation are not eligible for payment by your provincial health plan—for example, semi-private and private rooms. If you have private insurance, it’s important to understand your coverage before you register. For example, some insurance plans cover only semi-private rooms, not private.
Please present your current provincial health card—and proof of private insurance, if relevant—upon registration. If you incur uninsured expenses as part of your hospital visit, you will be required to present a credit card to pay for all amounts which are not covered by your provincial health care plan or your private insurance. If you do not hold private insurance, certain expenses must be prepaid before your visit.
Paying your bill
You have 4-5 options for paying your bill which will require you to put your medical reference number (known as your “K” number, refer to Sample (1) if you are paying patient billing; Or your invoice or account number (refer to Sample (2) if you are paying client billing. If you have trouble locating the number, please email for assistance at: accountsreceivable@iwk.nshealth.ca or clientsreceivable@iwk.nshealth.ca .
Sample (1) – Patient Billing
Sample (2) – Client Billing
- Pay your bill via online portal
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Pay your bill via online banking (only applicable for patients billing) If you bank with BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD or Tangerine, choose the payee “IWK Health Centre” to make bill payment. We do not accept e-transfer.
- Pay your bill by phone
Call 902-470-6829, Monday – Friday (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) We accept Amex, Discovery Card, Mastercard, Mastercard Debit, VISA, and VISA Debit
Coming from outside Nova Scotia
Canadians
Residents who have a valid provincial Health Card are automatically covered for medical services for an emergency or sudden illness within Nova Scotia. However, costs may not be covered for non-emergency medical or hospital service in Nova Scotia unless approved in advance. Your family physician will request approval for your out-of-province health service. Typically, you’ll be approved if your treatment is not available in your home province.
International
For patients outside Canada, you must present proof of valid local insurance at the time of registration. Any portion of the visit that is not covered by your local private insurance, please refer to “Paying your bill” section to see the options for settling the balance. If you do not have local private insurance, prepayment arrangements will be required. Please contact accountsreceivable@iwk.nshealth.ca.