Context

The GSS provides Extended Health and Dental insurance to graduate students registered in 3.0 units or more of on-campus courses. Part-time, distance, and family members may opt into the GSS insurance at an additional cost and within the permitted Change of Coverage periods. Extended Health and Dental insurance covers costs that are NOT included in basic insurance (BC MSP or MTMI for newly arriving international students). All graduate students at UVic are required to have both basic and extended health/dental insurance for the duration of their studies.

A summary of your coverage can be found here: https://uvic-gss.alumo.ca/

A handy infographic can be found here: https://stprodcacalumomainweb.blob.core.windows.net/contents/documents/uvic_gss_brochure.pdf
What you should know

The cost of offering the same plan to our students has increased. In order to maintain ALL coverage we currently offer, we would need to raise prices by at least 35%. The reason for this increase is a combination of factors, primarily driven by an increase in the utilization of our plan by our students and additional costs from market inflation. Areas of most increase were Physiotherapy, Psychology, and Prescription Medication. This is in addition to smaller increases in other categories. We are aware that some of our members will want to retain as much coverage as possible, and others may be more interested in keeping their fees as low as possible. We want students to be informed and help us find a solution. Specifically, How much do we want to pay for these services? If the cost is too high in some areas, where do we want to reduce coverage? This survey will ask about a wide range of options that the GSS is considering to control costs while supporting our members’ health and wellbeing.
The Survey

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1. Which of the following do you support? (Required.)

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2. There are ways we can reduce the financial burden on students and keep our plan. It is possible to use our healthcare savings and increase fees gradually to ease the cost on students. Which of these fee increase schedules would you support?

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3. When it comes to my insurance, I value most:

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4. Our largest cost drivers for insurance are prescription medications, physiotherapy and mental healthcare. Which of these three is most important to you?

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5. Some of the services in our plan can also be accessed through network providers or the province. Would you be willing to individually enroll in government services or make use of ALUMO provider networks instead of increasing costs to our plans?

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6. Empower Me is a student assistance program providing mental health and wellness services 24/7 added to our plan in 2024, increasing our plan cost by ~$10. Given that UVic offers another 24/7 mental health service, SupportConnect, do you support removing Empower Me from the GSS plan?

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7. Alumo covers prescription drugs at 70%. Alumo also offers an additional 10% discount to prescriptions filled at Rexall pharmacies. Given the Rexall network discount, would you support reducing our total prescription medication coverage to 60%?

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8. Given that BC Fair Pharmacare provides partial to total drug coverage for low-income residents, do you support the GSS mandating that members apply to Fair Pharmacare prior to receiving GSS prescription drug coverage to control costs?

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9. The GSS increased our physiotherapy from $250/year to $500/year in 2024. This added ~8% to our Extended Health fees. Physiotherapy has become one of the biggest drivers of the increase in GSS insurance costs since then. Low-income, domestic students have access to government-funded physiotherapy (amongst other services through BC MSP Supplementary Benefits). Do you support reducing physiotherapy coverage from $500/year to $250/year?

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10. In 2024, the GSS expanded the range of covered mental health providers (clinical social workers, registered/certified counsellors, master’s of social work). This increased our plan cost by ~$10. The Student Wellness Centre offers free counselling, and UVic offers another 24/7 mental health service, SupportConnect. Do you support removing the expanded list of mental health providers from the GSS plan?

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11. Alumo covers dental costs at 70%. Alumo also offers an additional 20-30% discount to services provided within their dental network. Given the network discount, would you support reducing our dental coverage to 60%?

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12. The GSS increased our eye exam coverage from $75 per 24 months to $100 per 24 months in 2024. Alumo also works with a network of optometrists to reduce costs. Given the network benefits, do you support reducing our eye exam coverage from $100 per 24 months to $75 per 24 months?

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13. Which of the following services do you value in the GSS plan? [please rank in order of most important to least important]

Thank you for your feedback. Your GSS board and staff are working hard to find solutions that reflect our members values in the upcoming plan renewal, so your feedback is greatly appreciated.

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