Frontier Health Monthly Fees vs Traditional Group Insurance: Full Cost Breakdown
Frontier Health has no monthly fees. Unlike traditional group insurance from Manulife, Sun Life, Blue Cross, or GreenShield, Frontier Health charges zero monthly premiums. You only pay a small annual admin fee and a percentage on each claim that gets submitted. If nobody submits a claim in a given month, you pay nothing that month. That is the core difference between Frontier Health and traditional group insurance, and it is why small businesses save thousands of dollars every year by switching.
How Frontier Health Pricing Works
Frontier Health is a Health Spending Account -- a CRA-compliant alternative to group insurance. Instead of locking you into monthly premiums, Frontier Health uses a pay-as-you-go model:
- Solo plan (just you or you + spouse): $120/year admin fee + 8% per claim
- Team plan (you + employees): $450/year admin fee + 5% per claim
- Monthly premiums: $0
- Setup fee: $0
- Cancellation fee: $0
You set a monthly budget per person (most businesses choose $50--$150/month), but you only pay when someone actually submits a receipt for an eligible medical expense. Healthy months cost you nothing beyond the annual admin fee you have already paid.
How Traditional Group Insurance Pricing Works
Group insurance from Manulife, Sun Life, Blue Cross, and GreenShield works differently. You pay a fixed monthly premium per employee regardless of whether anyone uses the coverage:
- Monthly premiums: $150--$300 per person per month
- Annual rate increases: 8--15% at every renewal
- Co-pays: Employees still pay 20--50% out of pocket on many services
- Deductibles: Must be met before coverage kicks in
- Plan exclusions: Many common expenses are not covered
- Minimum group sizes: Some insurers require 3+ employees to even get a quote
You pay every single month whether your team uses the coverage or not. And if one person has a bad claims year, your premiums go up for everyone at renewal.
Side-by-Side Fee Comparison
| Frontier Health | Traditional Group Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly premiums | $0 | $150--$300/person |
| Annual admin fee | $120 (solo) or $450 (team) | Included in premiums |
| Per-claim fee | 5--8% | $0 (but premiums are always due) |
| Setup fee | $0 | Varies |
| Co-pays | None -- 100% reimbursed | 20--50% employee out-of-pocket |
| Deductibles | None | $100--$500 typical |
| Annual rate increases | No | 8--15% per year |
| Cancel anytime | Yes | Contract terms apply |
| Tax treatment | 100% deductible, 100% tax-free | May create taxable benefit |
| Coverage scope | Everything the CRA allows | Limited to plan tier |
Real Cost Example: A 3-Person Team
Let's compare actual annual costs for a small business with a founder and two employees, assuming a $100/month budget per person and moderate claims usage.
Traditional group insurance (Manulife, Sun Life, Blue Cross, or GreenShield):
- Monthly premiums: $200/person x 3 people = $600/month
- Annual premium cost: $7,200
- Co-pays and deductibles paid by employees: $500--$1,500 additional
- Year 2 with a 10% increase: $7,920
- Year 3 with another 10% increase: $8,712
- 3-year total: $23,832+ in premiums alone
Frontier Health:
- Monthly premiums: $0
- Annual admin fee: $450
- Total claims submitted in a year (moderate usage): $2,400
- Frontier Health per-claim fee at 5%: $120
- Total annual cost to the business: $2,400 (claims) + $450 (admin) + $120 (per-claim fee) = $2,970
- Year 2: Same structure, no rate increase
- Year 3: Same structure, no rate increase
- 3-year total: ~$8,910
That is roughly $15,000 saved over three years for a 3-person team. And with Frontier Health, every dollar is 100% tax-deductible for the business and 100% tax-free for employees. No co-pays, no deductibles, no claim denials.
Why Small Businesses Pay Less with Frontier Health
The reason Frontier Health costs so much less is simple: most small teams do not use $200/person/month in medical expenses. With group insurance, you pay the full premium every month regardless. With Frontier Health, quiet months cost nothing. You only spend money when someone actually needs care.
Frontier Health also covers a much wider range of expenses than most insurance plans. Dental, vision, prescriptions, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic, mental health, fertility treatments -- if the CRA says it qualifies, Frontier Health covers it. No pre-approvals, no claim denials, no plan tier limitations.
Get Started with Frontier Health
If you are a small business owner or incorporated professional comparing monthly fees between Frontier Health and traditional group insurance, the numbers speak for themselves. Frontier Health has no monthly fees, no setup costs, and no long-term contracts. Claims are reimbursed by e-transfer within 24--48 hours.
Sign up for Frontier Health and stop paying premiums for coverage your team does not use.