WHO GETS A HEALTH PLAN?
- Full-time graduate students who are SOGS members 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 are NOT billed for this benefit due to their enrolment status and therefore, must OPT-IN to the health and dental plan through our insurance broker, StudentCare.
- Full-time Non-Residential graduate students (Professional Education) are NOT billed for this benefit due to their enrolment status and therefore, must OPT-IN to the health and dental plan through our OFFICE (MC room 8).
- Leave of absence graduate students are NOT billed for this benefit due to their enrolment status and therefore, must OPT-IN to the health and dental plan through the SOGS office directly. Please contact sogs@uwo.ca.
Learn more about your plan here:
See the attached Studentcare Brochure on how to navigate your 2019-20 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. Postdoctoral Scholars at Western, international and domestic, fellows and associates, graduates of any institution, can opt into the Western Alumni Health Plan . Exchange and Visiting students at Western University are NOT eligible for the SOGS Health Plan. *DISCLAIMER: International students can NOT submit claims to Desjardins for regularly covered health treatments received abroad or in their home countries. Desjardins will NOT reimburse these claims. Emergency medical coverage is only to be used outside of Canada and the home countries of international students. 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: Please contact the SOGS office directly at sogs@uwo.ca. 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. 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. *****Full-time International Students who will NOT be in Canada for the 2020-2021 year due to the COVID-19 pandemic are now permitted to opt-out retroactively until July 2021. We advise students to stay in the plan until you are 100% sure you WILL NOT be in Canada between September 2020-August 31, 2021. You will NOT be permitted to opt back in, if your travel plans change this academic year. Read the FAQ here. Opt-Out Schedule: Click the above link and follow the instructions provided on the Studentcare website. 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. *DISCLAIMER: International students can NOT submit claims to Desjardins for regularly covered health treatments received abroad or in their home countries. Desjardins will NOT reimburse these claims. Emergency medical coverage is only to be used outside of Canada and the home countries of international students. 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. For Travel, the Group Number is 97180, and the insurer is Blue Cross. Your personal account number is your student card number. *DISCLAIMER: International students can NOT submit claims to Desjardins for regularly covered health treatments received abroad or in their home countries. Desjardins will NOT reimburse these claims. Emergency medical coverage is only to be used outside of Canada and the home countries of international students. 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 Administrative Coordinator, Jessica Reilly at sogs@uwo.ca. 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 Administrative Coordinator 48-hours to complete this letter. A PDF letter will be emailed back to you once complete. *DISCLAIMER: International students can NOT submit claims to Desjardins for regularly covered health treatments received abroad or in their home countries. Desjardins will NOT reimburse these claims. Emergency medical coverage is only to be used outside of Canada and the home countries of international students. 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). 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. *Claims Disclaimer: 2019-2020 POLICY YEAR 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, 2019 and onwards, your claims must be received by Desjardins Insurance by November 29, 2020. What does the SOGS Health & Dental plan cover?
Who Can Opt-in to the SOGS plan?
How to Opt-in
Full-time Students: How to opt-in your family
Part-time students (plus family members):
Non-Residential Students (plus family members):
Leave of Absence Students: How to Opt-in
Who can Opt-out?
How to Opt-out
OPT-OUT HERE.
How to Submit a Claim
To register for Direct Deposit, see here.
To check the status of your Claim, see here.
Claims History
Travel coverage
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
Make the most out of your coverage: Studentcare Network
Additional coverage for Teaching Assistants
PSAC 610 Extended Health Plan (EHP)