Health & Dental Coverage

**Full-time graduate students at Western University who are members of the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) and have paid their SOGS Health & Dental Plan fee are automatically billed for, enrolled in, and covered by the SOGS Health & Dental Plan. If you are uncertain about whether you have been charged this fee, check your tuition bill.

**Part-time graduate students, full-time non-residential students (professional education), leave of absence, and post-doctoral scholars are NOT automatically covered, and therefore must Opt-In within the first month of your enrolment term or contract start date within an academic year to receive coverage.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL CLAIMS ARE DUE WITHIN 90 DAYS OF THE POLICY YEAR. E.g. if you are submitting claims incurred on September 1, 2018 and onwards, your claims must be received by Desjardins Insurance by November 29, 2019.

SOGS Health & Dental Plan Coverage

See the attached Studentcare Brochure on how to navigate your 2018-19 Plan!

For a detailed breakdown of what the plan covers, please come to the SOGS office (Middlesex College, room 8)  or visit Studentcare.ca. Use your Pay Direct card to fill your prescriptions at most Canadian pharmacies.

International students: please contact Diana Ostia (dostia@uwo.ca), HR Coordinator, UHIP, if you require information about the University Health Insurance Plan: (519)-661-2111 Ext. 85536.

Note: Exchange and Visiting students at Western University are NOT eligible for the SOGS Health Plan.

Learn more about the recent change to OHIP and Drug Coverage here. 

To make the most of your plan, take advantage of Studentcare’s Network where you can receive discounts on your medical and dental expenses with approved providers.

Studentcare also offers a Rexall Exclusive Savings Card (10% off prescription drugs, and 20% off regularly price items).

Who Can Opt-in to the SOGS Health & Dental Coverage?

  • Family members (spouse/partner, child under the age of 25 years of age) of full-time students
  • Part-time students + family members (spouse/partner + children under 25 years of age)
  • Full-time Non-residential students (spouse/partner + children under 25 years of age)
  • Leave of Absence students (spouse/partner + children under 25 years of age)
  • Post-doctoral scholars (spouse/partner + children under 25 years of age)

How to Opt-in Family Members to the SOGS Health & Dental Coverage as a Full-time Student

If you are a full-time student automatically enrolled in and billed for the SOGS health plan and/or have family members (partner and/or children under 21 years of age or 25 if a student) you wish to opt-in, you must do so through Studentcare here.

To opt in your family members as a FULL-TIME student:

  1. Please go to the Studentcare web portal (NOTE: This portal is open from Sept 1-30, January 1-31, and May 1-31).
  2. You will need to create a profile/have your profile confirmed if you have not already done so (i.e., the website will ask you to enter your name and student number).
  3. Then, you will need to enrol your family online – You will need to enter the name and date of birth of your family members.
  4. Pay Studentcare electronically through their portal (instructions will be provided to you on the website).
  5. Due to a black out period, which can take up to 8 weeks, your family members will not appear in the Studentcare system as soon as you enrol them.

How to Opt-in as a Part-time student, Full-time Non-residential (professional education), Leave of Absence, and Post-doctoral Scholar to the SOGS Health & Dental Coverage

 Part-time and full-time non-residential students (plus family members):

  1. Fill out the Opt-in form. Form available here.
  2. Bring complete form with payment to the SOGS office.
  3. Methods of payment accepted: personal cheque written out to “SOGS”, e-transfer through your Canadian bank (set up SOGS as a payee. Email: sogs.accounting@uwo.ca Password: your student number) or cash.

Leave of Absence(plus family members):

  1. Fill out the Opt-in form. Form available here.
  2. Bring complete form + proof of LOA + payment to the SOGS office.
  3. Proof of LOA: provide SOGS with either the email sent to you from SGPS approving your LOA, or a letter from your department confirming same.
  4. Methods of payment accepted: personal cheque written out to “SOGS”, e-transfer through your Canadian bank (set up SOGS as a payee. Email: sogs.accounting@uwo.ca Password: your student number) or cash.

NOTE:  If you were full-time student who switched to Leave of Absence (“LOA”) status part way through that year, then you would not need to opt-in because you would have already been automatically billed for and enrolled in the SOGS health plan at the start of the academic year (i.e., September). If you are on LOA for the Fall term, then you would opt-in during the month of September. If you are returning from a medical, compassionate, or parental leave of absence, you are a “new” student and can opt-in/out within the same month as your return.

Post-doctoral Scholar (plus family members):

  1. Fill out the Opt-in form.
  2. Bring complete form + proof of post-doctoral scholar contract + payment to the SOGS office.
  3. Proof of Post-doctoral scholar contract: provide SOGS with a copy of your post-doctoral scholar contract which verifies the start date of your contract (typically the first page or two of the contract is adequate).
  4. Methods of payment accepted: personal cheque written out to “SOGS”, e-transfer through your Canadian bank (set up SOGS as a payee. Email: sogs.accounting@uwo.ca Password: your student number) or cash.
  5. Please see our Health Plan FAQ for Postdocs.

**Due to a black out period, which can take up to 8 weeks, you (and your family members) will not appear in the Studentcare system as soon as you enrol into the health plan.

Who can Opt-out of the SOGS Health Coverage?

FULL-TIME STUDENTS! Full-time students who are already covered under another equivalent insurance plan (e.g. your parents’, spouse or employer’s). Once you opt-out, you will receive a refund for the premium on your tuition fee bill. Please be advised that a credit for the premium will appear on your tuition fee bill in mid-October. 

Opt-Out Schedule:

    • If you are enrolled in September (fall term), you can opt-out from September 1 – 30.
    • If you are first enrolled in January (winter term), you can opt-out from January 1 – 31.
    • If you are first enrolled in May (summer term), you can opt-out from May 1 – 31.

How to Opt-out of the SOGS Health Coverage?

OPT-OUT HERE.

Click the above link and follow the instructions provided on the Studentcare website.

How to Submit a Claim

Health & Dental coverage:

For your own reference, the Studentcare Group Number for your Health & Dental coverage is Q1109, and the insurer is Desjardin (carrier #12). Your personal account number is your student card number. All claim forms can be found here.

The fastest way to submit a claim is through the mobile app, but you can also drop them off at the SOGS Office (Middlesex College, Room 8) or mail them to Desjardins(the insurance provider) yourself.

For detailed information on how to submit a claim, see the Studentcare website.
To register for Direct Deposit, see here.
To check the status of your Claim, see here.

If you would like to see your CLAIMS HISTORY with Desjardins, please create a profile with the insurance company. Once you have completed your registration, you can login to the Desjardins site here. For example, you may want to submit additional expenses not covered by the insurance company (because you have already maxed out the allotted coverage for the year) to the PSAC Local 610 Extended Health Plan for TAs.

If you you submitted a claim and have a question or concern about that claim, call Studentcare Member Services Centre: 1 866 358-4435, Mon. – Fri. from 9 am to 5 pm.

Travel coverage:

For Travel, the Group Number is 97180, and the insurer is Blue Cross. Your personal account number is your student card number.
If you use any of your travel benefits, you must call CanAssistance (Canada and United States: 1-866-601-2583 *toll-free*/ Other Countries: 0-204-775-2583 *collect*) immediately to find out how and when to submit your claims. See the Travel Health Passport and detailed explanation of coverage for more information.

How to get a Travel Letter for Visa Applications

If you are an international student travelling outside Canada, and require a letter from us confirming you have emergency medical travel insurance for a travel visa application, please email the Communications Administrator.

Please provide them with your: NAME as it appears on your passport, STUDENT NUMBER, and DATE OF BIRTH, as well as WHERE and WHEN you are travelling.

Please give the Communications Administrator 48-hours to complete this letter. A PDF letter will be emailed back to you once complete.

PSAC 610 Extended Health Plan (EHP)

If you are a Teaching Assistant (TA) and a member in good standing with PSAC 610, you will be able to apply for the Extended Health Plan (EHP), which you can use to increase your overall health care coverage. We recommended that you apply for your SOGS coverage first, and then submit your claims to PSAC 610.

To prove that you have maxed out your SOGS coverage, visit Desjardins and log in to your account. Under, “I want to”, click on “Consult my transaction history”. Click on “Details” next to the transaction history you wish to print the proof of claim for. Print this document and submit it to PSAC 610.