Hello GSA Members,
We have been offering you access to health and dental plans for 25 years, and each year we hear how important these plans are to you. You consistently tell us that you want more coverage, both in terms of options and amounts. We do our best to negotiate the best coverage for the best price each year, considering the costs, benefits, and opportunities for next years’ plan.
Over 2000 members use this plan to cover their health and dental needs. Students were reimbursed $257,000 for prescription drug coverage alone during the 2020-2021 academic year. That’s your mental health medication, birth control, and any other medicine you require. Students, including our international members, received another $250,000 in reimbursements for dental coverage, including check-ups, fillings, root canals, and other dental surgeries.
Soon, that could all change. In December, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) sent a letter to Desjardins and other banks demanding a policy change starting in Fall 2022 that will render all banks unable to provide collective insurance to students’ associations across the province.
Collective insurance plans for students work by automatically enrolling all Québécois, Canadian, and Permanent Resident students in the plan when they register for courses. Their tuition receipts list the health care plan, and they have the option of opting out during their first few weeks of study. Some do, but most don’t, even if they may not have a pressing need for insurance. The international students who choose to join the dental plan also help keep costs down. This way, the risk is shared between healthy students who may or may not need the occasional coverage and those who have a pressing need. This enrolment system keeps the overall cost of the plan low compared to the cost of an individual health insurance plan.
The AMF wants to change this system. Rather than create a pool of shared risk by automatically enrolling everyone eligible and asking them to opt themselves out, they have demanded that Desjardins (not the student associations) ensure that students must opt-in to be covered.
While this change may seem reasonable at first, it would end your plans. This change would mean that only those who have a severe need for coverage would go out of their way to register, driving up the overall cost as everyone enrolling could be expected to make claims. Thus, the prices rise dramatically, into the thousands of dollars and accordingly fewer students would register for the plan, driving up the costs even more for those who do. Enrolment would be unpredictable, and there’d be little to no benefit in offering plans. It would be a vicious cycle that would ultimately inflict severe financial pain on those in precarious situations regarding their health and finances.
Thus, Desjardins has informed us that if the new rules proposed by the AMF go forward, they will no longer offer group plans for student associations in 2022. Anyone continuing their students next year will lose their coverage.
In response to this, the GSA and over 50 other student associations across the province sent a letter (link below, written in French) asking the AMF to stop interfering with student insurance. Responding to pressure, the AMF has agreed to stay the application of this new rule. They will host a consultation period with all relevant stakeholders (link below) in the spring before submitting a report to the government in the fall.
This development is good news, but it is crucial to keep in mind that they have not committed to leaving the system as is, so they could still attempt to force through their desired change whenever they want. The AMF has been working for years to implement these changes that we believe will negatively impact students. These plans are legal and serve a vital need. But at the least, we currently expect that we will be able to offer an insurance plan for the 2022-2023 year.
We must continue to apply pressure to the AMF to ensure that they know how damaging this change would be to our community and students across the province. Below, you will find a link to a survey that will ask about the importance of this plan to you and how it has helped you. It will also request to add your name to a chorus of Concordia’s graduate students standing firm against this threat to our collective well-being. Please take the time to fill out the survey so that we can show the AMF and the government how important these plans are to students. Even if you are an international student who doesn’t use the domestic plan or chose to opt out, please take the time to show your support for the members of your community who depend on these plans.
The GSA will continue to fight for you.
Sincerely,
Your GSA Team.
We want to hear your opinions and concerns about the changes in the Healthcare Plan.
Further Reading (French Only*):
Letter to the AMF from Québec’s Student Associations
Press Coverage (French Only*):
For those of you who don’t know French, consider using the translation feature built into Google Chrome or use the translator DeepL to get the best possible translation
Les Étudiants Partent en Guerre Contre L’AMF – LA PRESSE
L’ AMF Recule Face à la Grogne Étudiante – LA PRESSE
Québec Refuse de s’immiscer dans le Conflit entre l’AMF et les Étudiants – LA PRESSE
Assurances: Bras de Fer entre l’AMF et les Associations Étudiantes – LE SOLEIL
Conflit avec l’AMF: Les Étudiants Demandent L’Intervention de la Ministre McCann – LE SOLEIL
Inquiétude Entourant la Pérennité des Assurances Collectives Étudiantes – MÉTRO QUÉBEC