All full-time students at Okanagan College are covered by the OCSU Extended Health and Dental Plan. This plan goes above and beyond what is offered by BC Medical Coverage. It's more like the health coverage you might recieve from an employer.
A growing number of important health care services aren’t covered in our public medical system. For many students, paying for these services can lead to financial hardship, while others can’t afford them at all. To help students pay for the health services they need, student health programs have been put in place at many colleges and universities across Canada. The student health plan is a collective investment to ensure the maximum standard of health care for the student community.
Our Extended Health and Dental Plan does not replace MSP or an equivalent plan (such as other provincial health care plans or a private basic plan). It offers you extra coverage in addition to basic medical covered by the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP). For example:
* Provincial Medical covers the cost of your visit to a general practitioner, but not the cost of prescription drugs. The OCSU plan provides you with coverage for many medications your physician might prescribe for you, including most oral contraceptives, insulin and diabetic supplies.
* MSP covers basic medical services such as a cast for a broken leg, but not the cost of an ambulance, or medical equipment such as crutches or wheelchair rental, which our plan does cover.
Our plan also covers many other services that basic MSP does not, including Dental Benefits, Travel Health Coverage and more.
Your insurance carrier is Green Shield
Green Shield web address: www.greenshield.ca
Green Shield customer service 1-888-711-1119
Your Green Shield ID # is “OSU” followed by your student number, then -00
Your full coverage information is too extensive to list here. However, some of the features of the plan are as follows:
Health:
Prescriptions 80%
Dental:
Cleanings and Preventative: 80%
Fillings: 70%
Wisdom Tooth Extraction: 50%
For more detailed information, come into the Student Benefit Office and pick up an Outline of Benefits.
The Students' Union plan is mandatory if you are enrolled in full time courses longer than 10 weeks in length. However, if you are covered by a similar plan through work or family (MSP does not count!), you may choose to opt out.
* Only students with comparable extended health and dental coverage through an insurance carrier or other third-party group arrangement (e.g. union-administered plans) may elect to opt out. If you do have other insurance, opting out is not mandatory – you may choose to “Coordinate your Benefits" over two plans.
* Basic Medical Services Plan of BC does NOT qualify you to opt out of the OSU plan.
* Aboriginal Students whose band covers their medical and dental expenses to the same or greater extent as the OCSU plan, need only list the band name and number in the appropriate fields.
* Once you’ve entered the opt-out information, it will take some time before the colleges computer systems “back out” the fee from your fee statement summary. So please be patient. If you've already mistakenly paid the fee, either before or after opting out, the college's system will eventually reflect a credit of that amount in your fee summary. To confirm that your opt-out information has been submitted, contact the Students’ Union office.
* If you’ve entered incorrect, incomplete or invalid information, the premium may be re-instated.
The Opt-Out Process
Step One:
Obtain an opt-out form from your Students' Union Office
Step Two:
Fill Out the Opt Out Form NEATLY with all information completed. (Remember, missing information can lead to your opt out being rejected. See example below)
Step Three:
Bring in your completed form to the Students’ Union office with your proof of extended coverage. Examples of the acceptable proof of coverage are below.
1. Coverage card with your name on it
2. Letter from the insurance company or the employer that provides the insurance on company letterhead.
Step Four:
Take your copy of your Opt our form home and put it in a safe place.