Naturopathic care is covered under most extended health benefit plans in Ontario, and getting your plan to pay for it is easier than it used to be. Fitra Health now offers direct billing through TELUS eClaims, so where your plan allows it, we bill your insurer at the time of your visit and you only pay the balance. If your insurer is not on the eClaims network, your clinic provides a detailed receipt that includes everything your insurer needs to process your claim. Understanding how both paths work can help you get more value from your existing benefits and reduce the friction of accessing care.
How insurance reimbursement works for naturopathic care
There are two ways your visit gets paid. The first is direct billing: clinics on the TELUS eClaims network, including Fitra Health, can submit your claim to a participating insurer at the time of service, so your insurer pays its share directly to the clinic and you only pay what your plan does not cover. The second is reimbursement: you pay the full fee at your appointment, your clinic provides a detailed receipt that includes the provider's name, CONO registration number, date of service, service code, and amount paid, and you submit that receipt to your insurer.
Your insurer reimburses you up to your covered amount, minus any applicable deductible or co-insurance. Most insurers offer mobile apps or online portals that make receipt submission quick and straightforward.
Which path applies depends on your insurer. TELUS eClaims connects clinics to more than 30 insurers, including Manulife, Canada Life, Desjardins, Industrial Alliance, Beneva, and Equitable. Insurers like Sun Life and Green Shield are not on the network, so those plans use the receipt route. Either way, a few minutes of preparation before your first visit makes the experience seamless. For the complete list of insurers Fitra can direct bill, see our guide to naturopathic insurance coverage in Ontario
Which insurers commonly cover naturopathic care
Many of the major group benefit insurers in Canada include naturopathic services in their extended health plans. These commonly include:
- Manulife: one of the most widely used group insurers in Canada; many Manulife plans include coverage for paramedical providers including NDs
- Sun Life: many Sun Life group benefit plans include naturopathic coverage
- Canada Life (formerly Great-West Life): many employer plans include naturopathic services
- Desjardins: covers naturopathic care under a range of paramedical categories
- Green Shield Canada: includes naturopathic services on plans that cover ND visits
- Blue Cross: participation varies by province and employer plan; check with your insurer to confirm
Coverage varies significantly between individual plans, even within the same insurer. Just because your insurer is listed above does not guarantee that your specific plan covers naturopathic care. Always confirm with your insurer before your appointment to avoid unexpected costs.
What to ask your insurer before booking
Before your first naturopathic appointment, a brief phone call or online check with your insurer can save you time and uncertainty. Here are the key questions to ask:
- Is naturopathic medicine included in my plan? (Look for 'naturopathic doctor,' 'naturopath,' or 'paramedical practitioners')
- What is my annual maximum for naturopathic services?
- Is there a per-visit maximum, and how many visits are included per year?
- Does my ND need to be registered with a specific regulatory body (e.g., CONO in Ontario) for claims to be processed?
- Does my plan cover virtual (telehealth) naturopathic visits, or only in-person visits?
- Is there a deductible or co-insurance amount I need to meet first?
Have your policy number, certificate number, and group number available when booking. After your appointment, submit the detailed receipt your clinic provides through your insurer's mobile app or online portal for reimbursement.
CONO registration and insurance claims
Most Ontario insurers require that your naturopathic doctor be registered with the College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO) for claims to be approved. This is a compliance requirement, not an optional check. CONO registration confirms that your ND has completed the necessary education, passed licensing examinations, and meets the standards of the profession. You can verify any ND's registration status through the public register at cono.ca.
All naturopathic doctors at Fitra Health are CONO-registered. Their registration numbers are available upon request and will appear on receipts and claim submissions where required. If your insurer asks for an ND registration number as part of the claims process, your clinic should be able to provide this.
Submitting your receipts for reimbursement
If your plan is on the TELUS eClaims network, you can usually skip this step entirely, since Fitra submits the claim for you at the time of service. For all other plans, Fitra Health provides a detailed receipt after every visit that includes all the information your insurer needs: the provider's name, CONO registration number, date of service, service code, and amount paid. You can submit this receipt through your insurer's online portal, app, or by mail. Most insurers process reimbursements within a few business days.
A quick call to your insurer before your first visit is all it takes to confirm your coverage and annual limits.
Health spending accounts and other plan types
Health Spending Accounts (HSAs) and Personal Spending Accounts (PSAs) typically require manual receipt submission even when a clinic offers direct billing, though the process is usually straightforward. Individual (non-group) policies and certain specialty plan structures may have different coverage rules. Check with your benefits administrator for details.
Keep all naturopathic receipts regardless of how the claim is billed, as these fees may also qualify as eligible medical expenses under the federal Medical Expense Tax Credit, meaning they may have value on your tax return even if not covered by insurance.
Practical checklist before your appointment
- Call your insurer or log into your member portal to confirm naturopathic coverage and your annual maximum.
- Check whether your insurer is on the TELUS eClaims network. If it is, Fitra can bill your plan directly and you only pay the balance.
- Have your insurance card ready at booking: policy number, certificate number, and group number.
- Verify your ND is CONO-registered at cono.ca.
- Keep all receipts. They may be needed for tax purposes.
- If you have a health spending account, ask your employer's benefits administrator how to submit naturopathic receipts.
Does OHIP cover naturopathic care?
No. OHIP does not cover naturopathic visits, lab work ordered by a Naturopathic Doctor, or supplements. This is the single most common question people ask, and the answer has not changed: naturopathic care in Ontario is paid either through an extended health benefits plan, a health spending account, or out of pocket. OHIP covers services delivered by physicians and a defined set of other providers, and Naturopathic Doctors are not among them, even though they are regulated under the same Regulated Health Professions Act.
That distinction matters when you call your insurer. Naturopathic benefits almost always sit in the paramedical section of an extended health plan, alongside physiotherapy, massage and chiropractic, each with its own annual maximum. If someone tells you naturopathic care is not covered, ask specifically about the paramedical category rather than the plan as a whole.
Insurers we can direct bill through TELUS eClaims
If your naturopathic benefits run through any of the plans below, we can usually submit the claim for you at the time of your visit. The list is ordered roughly by how common each plan is across Canadian workplaces, so the names most people have are near the top.
- Manulife Financial
- Canada Life
- Desjardins Insurance
- Industrial Alliance (iA)
- Beneva Inc.
- Equitable (Equitable Life)
- Alberta Blue Cross
- Canada Life - PSHCP (Public Service Health Care Plan)
- ClaimSecure
- Cowan
- GroupHEALTH
- GroupSource
- People Corporation
- Johnston Group Inc.
- Maximum Benefit
- Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance
- Coughlin & Associates Ltd.
- belairdirect (formerly Johnson Inc.)
- Simply Benefits
- Manion
- Quikcard
- TELUS AdjudiCare
- GMS Carrier 49
- GMS Carrier 50
- First Canadian
- RWAM Insurance Administrators
- MDM Insurance Services Inc.
- Union Benefits
- GPM Group Benefits
- AGA Financial Group Inc.
- BPA - Benefit Plan Administrators
- CINUP
- UV Insurance
- Canadian Construction Workers Union
- LiUNA Local 183
- LiUNA Local 506
Not seeing your insurer, or unsure which company administers your plan? That is normal. Many employers use a third party to manage benefits, so the name on your card may not be the name of the insurer. Send us the name on the card and we will tell you whether we can direct bill it.
One caution on amounts. Coverage is set by your employer's plan, not by the insurer, so two people with the same insurer can have very different naturopathic maximums. Anyone quoting you a fixed dollar figure per insurer is guessing. Your plan booklet or member portal is the only reliable source.
What a claimable receipt has to contain
If your insurer is not on the eClaims network, you pay at the visit and submit the receipt yourself. Insurers reject claims over missing fields more often than over eligibility, so it is worth knowing what a complete receipt looks like: the patient's full name, the date of service, the service description, the amount paid, the clinic's name and address, and the Naturopathic Doctor's full name and CONO registration number. Fitra receipts include all of these.
HST on naturopathic services
In Ontario, naturopathic services provided by a registered Naturopathic Doctor may be exempt from the Harmonized Sales Tax when they qualify as health care services under the Excise Tax Act. The exemption typically applies to services rendered by regulated health professionals for assessment, treatment or care. Whether HST applies to a particular service can depend on the nature of the visit and how it is classified. Fitra Health applies HST treatment in accordance with applicable tax guidance. For a question about a specific receipt, ask your accountant or a tax professional.
Claiming naturopathic fees on your taxes
Naturopathic Doctor fees may qualify as eligible medical expenses under the federal Medical Expense Tax Credit. The Canada Revenue Agency lists amounts paid to a naturopathic doctor as potentially eligible, provided the ND is a medical practitioner recognized under provincial law. In Ontario, Naturopathic Doctors are regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act, which means fees paid to a CONO-registered ND may be claimable on your federal return.
The total must exceed the lesser of $2,635 or 3% of your net income before the credit applies, and it can be combined with other eligible medical expenses for you, your spouse or your dependants. Review your own circumstances with a tax professional, or check the CRA medical expense list at canada.ca before you file.
Insurance logistics are rarely the reason someone seeks naturopathic care, but understanding how billing works before your first visit removes uncertainty and lets you focus on the conversation that matters. A few minutes of preparation with your insurer can make the process seamless.