PROGRAM SUMMARY

PLAN BENEFITS

Please visit studentcare.ca for information about the health and dental plan benefits for the current academic year. There will be a black-out period during the first month of the plan. This means that you can still use the services available through the benefits plan, but you cannot claim until after the black-out period. Why is there a black-out period? It allows for students who were automatically enrolled in the plan to opt-out if they already have coverage.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT
  • Plan utilization: making our members aware of the plan and to encourage usage of the benefits available through the plan.
  • Oversight & committee governance: following the mandate laid out within the terms of reference.
  • Cost effectiveness: analyzing claims data, budgets, and the plan fee.
  • Value added: encouraging Fair Pharmacare enrolment or bringing in massage practitioners during exam periods.
  • Regional engagement: looking for ways to have the regional students automatically enrolled in the plan.
MORE INFORMATION

For help with your plan, including questions about opting out, benefits, and self-enrolment, please visit studentcare.ca, or contact the Member Services Centre at 1.866.416.8701.

For other inquiries, please contact [email protected]

HOW THE PLAN CAME TO BE

We all need to have a prescription filled, see the dentist, or have an eye exam every now and then. While Canadian citizens are able to access basic medical services through the BC Medical Services Plan, such as hospital care and doctor’s appointments, many other forms of health care are not covered, and these expenses can add up quickly. As students, we’re vulnerable to unplanned medical and dental expenses, and private insurance can be prohibitively expensive. And while many of us already have insurance through our parents, work, or spouse, a significant number of us don’t.

It’s because of our common need for health care and to be protected from unexpected costs that students began talking about the need for a collective health and dental insurance plan at Capilano.

One of the constitutionally defined purposes of the Capilano Students’ Union (and primary functions of any student society) is to organize services which provide for the human needs of its members, the students attending Capilano University. This mandate is outlined in section 2(d) of the Constitution of the Capilano Students’ Union. The provision of a health and dental insurance plan is consistent with this mandate, and is a service offered by student societies at most universities and colleges in British Columbia.

In Fall of 2009, the Services Committee of the Capilano Students’ Union struck a working group to investigate the possibility of implementing a health and dental plan at Capilano. The working group met regularly in the Spring of 2010, and researched existing student health and dental plans in BC.

In the Fall of 2010, after reviewing portfolios from several service providers, the working group invited Gallivan & Associates and StudentCare to meet on campus for presentations. The working group, seeking expertise in health insurance plans and after carefully screening both service providers, invited StudentCare to volunteer as an interim consultant on the project.

Meetings were held on a weekly basis at the North Vancouver campus that were open to all students. It was determined that the best course of action was to distribute a survey and conduct focus groups on the regional campuses, and proceed based on the information gathered from that consultation.

A survey was conducted from January 27 – February 9, 2011. The survey was distributed to the emails of approximately 7400 students, and had 1053 respondents (or 14%) The survey sought to gather information about a number of themes related to health and dental insurance:

  • What kinds of insurance, if any, did students at Capilano have?
  • What kinds of health care are students unable to afford?
  • How much money, and on what kinds of health care, have students paid out-of-pocket?
  • Do students support a health and dental plan?
  • Would students opt-out of the plan, if it were implemented?
  • How much were students willing to pay for a health and dental plan?
  • What kinds of plan benefits are important to students?
  • What kinds of plan services are important to students?

The results of this survey provided a very clear sense of direction for the Health and Dental Working Group. Most students supported the implementation of a health and dental plan, and a concerning number of students reported that they lacked coverage, were paying significant amounts of money out-of-pocket, and many were going without health care because they could not afford it. The survey found that:

  • 94% of students responded “Yes, I support a student Health and Dental Plan.”
  • Only 35% of students indicated that they were covered by both a health and dental insurance plan.
  • 69% of students reported that they had incurred out-of-pocket medical expenses in the past year.
  • 52% of students without a form of insurance had not seen a dentist in over a year.
  • 27% had not seen a dentist in over two years.

Many students reported having not used services because of their ability to pay in the past year:

  • prescription drugs (23%)
  • vision care (36%)
  • dental Care (45%)

To whom it may concern:

The Capilano Students’ Union is evaluating our current student health and dental plan.  We would like to invite insurance providers, licensed in British Columbia, to submit a proposal for consideration.   The accepted proposal will form a contract that will commence on September 1, 2019 for a three (3) to five (5) year term, ending between August 31, 2022 and August 31, 2024.

All interested parties may submit proposals to Ann Luo, programs director.

We thank you for your consideration and look forward to receiving your proposal.

Sincerely,

Anna-Elaine Rempel
President

Christopher Girodat
Executive Director

Click here for the full request for proposal.

To be able to have the fees collected for the health and dental plan, the CSU was required by section 27 (1) of the University Act to first have it approved by a majority of students who voted in a referendum. 1017 students voted on the following question from April 4-8:

“Do you support the implementation of an extended Health and Dental plan for all full-time Capilano University students at a cost of up to $18.25 per student per month ($219/year)? This fee will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index (Health and Personal Care). Students may withdraw from the health and dental plan if they already have coverage. Part time students would be eligible to self-enrol.”

Of those who voted, 97% of students voted “yes” to the new health and dental plan.

FAST FACTS

ELIGIBILITY

Most full-time students (e.g. those enrolled in nine+ credits) attending Capilano University in the Fall semester will be automatically enrolled in the health and dental plan. This includes members at all three campuses, online students, and students taking courses at off-campus locations.

OPT-OUTS

For opt-out options, this only applies to students in the Fall semester. Students who are covered by an alternate plan (e.g. through parents, work, spouse, et cetera) can opt-out of the health and/or dental plans during the change-of-coverage period at the beginning of the Fall semester. Visit studentcare.ca, or contact the Member Services Centre at 1-866-416-8701 for more information.

SELF-ENROLMENT

If you are are not automatically covered (e.g. you are a part-time student) you can self-enrol on the plan during the change-of-coverage period. Visit studentcare.ca, or contact the Member Services Centre at 1-866-416-8701 for more information.

ENROLL SPOUSE AND/OR DEPENDANTS

If you have a spouse or dependents, you can enrol them on your plan for an additional fee during the change-of-coverage period. Visit studentcare.ca or contact the Member Services Centre at 1-866-416-8701 for more information.Submit all documentation and payment before the change-of-coverage period deadline.

SPRING SELF-ENROLMENT

Students starting at Capilano University in the Spring semester are not automatically enrolled and are given the opportunity to self-enrol into the CSU Health & Dental Plan when they register for the Spring semester.Visit studentcare.ca and download the Self-Enrolment form from the link on the right side of the webpage.