The insurance coverage dates and the insurance plan limit renewal dates are separate. Please see the explanation below.
Student Plan Coverage Dates span the academic year and are set by UVic.
For the September – December term:
If you will be full-time registered in at least 3.0 units, then your UVic Tuition Account will be assessed with the GSS Dental Plan and GSS Extended Health Plan for twelve months worth of coverage from September 1 – August 31.
If you opt in in the January – April term:
If you will be full-time registered in at least 3.0 units, then your UVic Tuition Account will be assessed with the GSS Dental Plan and GSS Extended Health Plan for eight months worth of coverage from January 1 – August 31.
Frequency Plan Limits:
Pacific Blue Cross sets the frequency plan limits. Frequency plan limits are the maximum financial amount that Pacific Blue Cross will cover for a service in a specified period. Most plan limits (such as most dental and paramedical services) span the calendar year, from January 1 – December 31. Some plan services have longer frequency limits, for example, for vision care the plan limits span 2 calendar years. For full details on Pacific Blue Cross Frequency Plan limits, please see the 2021-2022 Benefits Booklet.
The BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) is the provincial health program that allows residents in BC to access medically necessary services provided by physicians and midwives; it is required by law to have enrolment in this program if you are a resident of BC. All GSS members (including domestic students from outside BC) must register in BC MSP if they reside in BC for more than 6 months. BC MSP helps to pay for basic services deemed to be medically required. BC MSP will cover baseline costs for basic primary care, such as seeing a doctor and hospital urgent care, in addition to limited partial coverage for some other services.
To review which services are not covered by MSP, see their website. For more information on BC MSP you can call toll-free at: 1-800-663-7100. If you are in the lower mainland: 604-683-7151.
If you have questions about BC MSP, you can also to UVic’s International Centre for Students, which has trained staff members that can assist you. You can email them at icsinfo@uvic.ca.
Guard.me or MTMI is temporary medical insurance coverage for international students new to UVic that have not established residency in British Columbia. This coverage lasts for four (4) months until an application for MSP can be processed to allow international students to have access to physician or hospital acute visits for new and unexpected illness or injury that would normally be covered by MSP. New international students are automatically enrolled with their tuition and student fees.
For more information on MTMI or BC MSP, please contact the International Centre for Students (ICS) at icsinfo@uvic.ca.
Medical Services Plan (MSP) provides only the primary basics such as hospital and doctors visits. It is not the same as extended health insurance. The GSS Extended Health plan covers areas not included in BC MSP. This means that the two plans are not the same. The BC Medical Services Plan is not comparable alternative coverage for extended health because each covers different types of services.
MSP allows you to see a doctor or visit a hospital, while Extended Health covers most of the cost of prescription drugs, local ambulance, and paramedical services. As such, they are not equal in terms of services that are provided.
All GSS members (including domestic students from outside BC) must register in BC MSP if they reside in BC for more than 6 months.
For details about the differences between public services and private extended health services, you’re welcome to see this article from our insurance provider.
Yes! Under the Graduate Students’ Society Plans, coordination of extended health and/or dental coverages through different sources/employers is allowed. For more information about coordination of benefits, please see the Pacific Blue Cross Advice Centre.
In most cases clinics/offices can take care of direct billing by submitting eligible claims to the insurance company on your behalf. During the blackout period, you will have to pay for services upfront and submit receipts after the end of the blackout period.
If you paid for eligible services upfront, then there are two ways to submit eligible claims:
- Create an online account and set up direct deposit for reimbursement of eligible claims paid for upfront at clinics/offices
- Submit eligible claims by mail. Start by printing off a claims form from our Health and Dental forms page, and following the instructions on the form.
Short answer: data storage and privacy.
The GSS is required under the University Act to ensure that all on-campus UVic graduate students have extended health and dental insurance. To meet this requirement, we check whether students have alternative coverage or another reason for opting out once per year through the opt out process. We unfortunately cannot assume that students will not have changes in their alternative insurance coverage over the course of the year and we do not have access to information related to other reasons for opt outs (e.g., we can’t assume or access students’ future registration status). Likewise for opt-ins, we are unable to track and store personal information data for family members of GSS members. Nor can we assume consent to charge students and their families for insurance that they have not requested. Our insurance is renewed annually for all members, and for those who opt in, the process is not automated through Tuition as UVic does not maintain any records on students’ family members.
As a separate legal entity from the University Of Victoria, the GSS has restricted access to information that students may disclose to UVic that would impact their GSS insurance coverage desires. The University of Victoria prioritizes the privacy of student data. The GSS is not granted any access to which students are, for example, registered with CAL, Indigenous and covered by federal health care, or working for UVic and covered by one of UVic’s insurance plans, etc. This is done because the vast majority of people who use students’ data have no legitimate use for this information and there is a very real risk of instilling bias in data users by granting expansive access to that information. The siloing of information means that The Tuition Office has no data through which they can discriminate between students that may meet the GSS opt out/in criteria when applying fees. Due to UVic’s privacy protection policies, they would not be willing to make this information available to an outside entity, such as the GSS, to allow for changes to this system.
As such, the only option would be for the GSS to take responsibility for tracking and storing information on everyone who is submitting a multi-year opt out request. At the moment, there is no system for doing this. Besides auto-opt out, there is no other legitimate uses the GSS would have for seeking and storing members’ personal or medical information, and creating such a list of Indigenous students, students with a disability, etc. would be a liability for the GSS and our members as any privacy breaches could be highly damaging to the impacted members.
Overall, the GSS maintains the rule that all opt outs need to be renewed each time the fee is applied (semesterly for UPASS, annually for H&D) to limit the amount of personal students information we are required to store. This decision decreases our risks and liabilities around potential privacy breaches. The Appeals Committee has decided that “the need to protect students personal information outweighs the need for a simpler opt out/in system for students.”
A deductible is the amount a member must pay out of pocket before insurance will pay any eligible expenses.
There is a calendar year deductible of $10 per person or per family for extended health care and drugs combined (excluding vision care, eye examinations, or tutorial services).
A co-payment is the amount a person must pay out of pocket before insurance will pay any eligible expense amount.
For paramedical practitioners such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractor, naturopath, podiatrist, acupuncture, speech therapy, chiropodist, psychologist/clinical counsellor, athletic therapy, the co-payment is $10 per person per visit.
Create your online insurance account. On the main page after logging in, click on the View Details button on “Drug”. Search by drug name or DIN (drug identification number) to see if it is covered.
Prescription drugs are covered at 70% for eligible prescription drugs including contraceptives, life sustaining vitamins, anti-obesity drugs, and certain vaccines. Pharmacare drugs are subject to the low cost alternative and reference drugs program in British Columbia. Non-pharmacare drugs will be subject to a low cost alternative pricing with a 15% mark-up cap. All drugs under the GSS Extended Health Plan are subject to a $10 dispensing fee cap.
Some prescription drugs may be covered by a government agency. Please speak to your prescribing practitioner who may apply on your behalf. If coverage is denied or not provided for your condition, you may need to provide a letter from your physician to indicate your medical condition and the reason coverage was denied/not approved.
The Health and Dental Coordinator can submit your case for further review for eligibility under the GSS Extended Health Plan. You can contact the Health and Dental Coordinator at gsoc@uvic.ca. Include your student number and any relevant documentation.
To find and compare prescription pills and tablets at pharmacies in British Columbia, use the Pharmacy Compass.
Pharmacy Compass will compare the generic equivalence price and list the locations’ dispensing fee. All drugs under the GSS Extended Health Plan are subject to a $10 dispensing fee cap.
To search for an extended health practitioners that offer direct billing to the insurance company in British Columbia, start by selecting the health provider service, and type in your city. It will provide you with a list of clinics/offices that offer direct billing with the insurance company.
In most cases clinics/offices can take care of direct billing by submitting eligible claims to the insurance company on your behalf. Ask your dental office to send in pre-authorization forms for any dental services if you are unsure if the GSS Dental Plan will cover your appointment.
During the blackout period, you will have to pay for services upfront and submit receipts after the end of the blackout period.
If you paid for eligible dental services upfront, then there are two ways to submit eligible claims:
- Create an online account and set up direct deposit for reimbursement of eligible claims paid for upfront at clinics/offices
- Submit eligible claims by mail. Start by printing off a claims form from our Health and Dental forms page, and following the instructions on the form.