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At our recent Benefits Vote, the membership of CUPE476 voted in favour of updating to the New Provincial Standard Plan. It is our understanding this will become effective July 1st, 2023. Our members have had a lot of questions about the new plan; The Standard Plan Support Document contains an FAQ that folks may find helpful, here are two questions we’ve heard most often:

Q: Can a member who was previously terminated from the plan due to reaching the extended health care plan’s current maximum age be reinstated since the Provincial Standardized Extended Health Care Plan has a termination age of retirement?
A: Those members that were terminated from the extended health care plan due to reaching the maximum age of their current extended health plan and who still meet the eligibility requirements of the plan can be reinstated as of the effective date of the Provincial Standardized Extended Health Care Plan for your group. They will need to complete an enrolment form within the open enrolment period. Please note that this is only applicable to the extended health plan. If the member’s dental plan has a set termination age, this provision still applies.

Q: How will the deductible of the plan be applied with a mid-year effective date of the Standard Plan?
A: For most union locals, participating in the Standard Plan means an increase in the annual deductible. As of the effective date of the Provincial Standardized Extended Health Care Plan, the $100 annual deductible will need to be satisfied before any further claims are reimbursed. For example, if your current plan has a $25 annual deductible and a member has already satisfied this prior to the Standard Plan effective date, the remaining $75 deductible will need to be satisfied before any further claims are reimbursed.

As a plan member you and any dependents covered by this plan need to be proactive, particularly with prescription medications. One major change to the coverage is that we have moved to a Formulary, or a list of approved prescription drugs. If you have a perscription for a drug that is not pre-approved, you can still apply for approval. A list of drugs requiring approval is available from Blue RX. Read This Brochure for more information about the Blue RX Formulary.

If you are looking for other benefit information such as Policy Numbers, current benefits or other health and wellness concerns, please refer to PEBT. (You will need to select “Powell River” from the drop-down list.

Please reach out if you have any other questions or concerns.