Eligibility Criteria
All eligible domestic and international students are automatically enrolled in the Health and Dental Plan provided by the Students’ Association (BCITSA). This plan covers a range of health and dental services that are not covered by the provincial health insurance (MSP) or international Medical Insurance (guard.me). The Plan fee is included in your tuition each term you are eligible for the plan.
The Health and Dental Plan was approved by referendum; as a result, the SA Health Fee is a mandatory requirement of your enrollment at BCIT and must be paid by the due date set by BCIT to avoid overdue penalties. The Plan provides you access to comprehensive and affordable health and dental coverage starting from the first day of the month when your program starts.
Students must meet the following eligibility criteria to be automatically enrolled in the plan:
- Students enrolled in a designated full-time study program that is 16 weeks or longer at BCIT; and
- Students assessed the Student Association Fee; and
- Students residing in Canada studying in person or online; and
- Students under the age of 70.
Students enrolled in part-time studies programs, have full-time status and/or are in individual courses through flexible studies (part-time) do not qualify for the Health and Dental Plan.
Enrollment Confirmation
If you are not sure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please visit my.BCIT.ca and log in using your account. If you see the SA Health Fee included in your tuition, you are covered by the Health and Dental Plan provided by the Students Association.
If you are unsure about whether or not you are eligible for the Student Health and Dental plan, please contact your Benefit Plan Office at healthplan@bcitsa.ca prior to any applicable deadlines.
Validation Period
There is a 45-day validation period from the start date of your program to complete the enrollment process in the insurance carrier. Please note that this validation period is mandatory and non-negotiable. It is designed to ensure that only eligible students will be enrolled in the plan.
During this time, eligible students are covered but the health practitioners cannot directly bill Canada Life, students must pay out of pocket for all eligible expenses and keep the receipts. Once the validation period is complete, students can submit online claims to Canada Life for reimbursement.
The validation period applies only to new students, students who apply to re-enroll, and family members added to the plan. Returning eligible students may continue using the health and dental plan without disruption.
Plan Card
The benefits plan card is used by eligible students enrolled in the student health and dental plans where direct billing is available. To make direct billing work for you, simply show your card when you use eligible services covered by the plan. Direct billing is based on your service provider's billing practices and may not always be available.
To avoid issues when using your Plan Card, you must register with Canada Life at my.canadalife.com and update your address, including the postal code in the profile section because some providers cannot direct bill if your address has not been added to your profile with Canada Life.
If your service provider does not offer direct billing, you will pay the full amount out of pocket for eligible expenses and submit an online claim for reimbursement through my.canadalife.com. You must attach receipts and related documentation when submitting claims.
The Plan Card is automatically activated for new eligible students once the validation period is complete. Eligible returning students can continue using the same Plan Card as the policy information remains the same. You do not need to generate a new card every year.
The same Plan card is used where students have added family members to their health and dental plans.
Canada Life online tool
my.canadalife.com is an online tool that provides you access to your group benefits plan. It is important to register on Canada Life once your plan is active. For new students, there are approximately 45 days from the start date of your program for the enrollment process to be completed.
When registering you will be asked for an email address and once you complete the first part of the registration, a link to finish the registration process will be sent to the email address you provided. If you do not click on the link your registration will be not completed.
Through my.canadalife.com you can submit claims, check balances, investigate claim status and history, and set up Direct Deposit of claim payments. For more information, please visit the Submitting Claims section.
Welcome to your Student Group Plan, watch a short video about your benefits.
Coverage Period
The coverage Period is the period of time during which the students can use their benefits from the retroactive start date and terminating on the expiry date of the student plan policy.
Effective Date
Eligible students will receive coverage starting with the first day of the month their program begins.
- Students starting in January: Coverage begins January 1st and ends December 31st.
- Students starting in February: Coverage begins February 1st and ends January 31st.
- Students starting in March: Coverage begins March 1st and ends February 28th.
- Students starting in April: Coverage begins April 1st and ends March 31st.
- Students starting in May: Coverage begins May 1st and ends April 30th.
- Students starting in June: Coverage begins June 1st and ends May 31st.
- Students starting in July: Coverage begins July 1st and ends June 30th.
- Students starting in August: Coverage begins August 1st and ends July 31st.
- Students starting in September: Coverage begins September 1st and ends August 31st.
- Students starting in October: Coverage begins October 1st and ends September 30th.
- Students starting in November: Coverage begins November 1st and ends October 31st.
- Students starting in December: Coverage begins December 1st and ends November 30th.
Benefit Year
A year or 12 months of benefits coverage under the Student Health and Dental Plan. During the benefit year, eligible students can use their benefits according to the limit amount defined per service. You cannot carry forward any benefits. The benefit year starts the same day as the effective date of your coverage.
The benefits will restart every year if you remain an eligible student who is charged the SA Health Plan fee.
If the effective date of your plan is September 1st, your benefit year starts on September 1st and ends on August 31st. If you are attending college and are charged the plan fees for the following September, your coverage will restart on September 1st.
Termination Date
The termination date of your benefits is defined by the number of months that a student has accumulated during the program. If you want to know the termination date of your plan, please contact your Benefit Plan Office at healthplan@bcitsa.ca after graduating or changing your full-time status to part-time.
BC Fair PharmaCare
The Fair PharmaCare plan helps B.C. residents pay for many medications and pharmacy services and some medical supplies. You must be a B.C. resident and fully enrolled in the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) to register. Fair PharmaCare is based on income: the less you earn, the more help you get.
By coordinating Fair PharmaCare and the Student Health Plan, many enrolled students will enjoy lower out-of-pocket charges for their eligible prescription drugs.
Students with net incomes less than $15,000 two years ago and who are registered for MSP on their own, not under their family’s plan, will get the most help. PharmaCare will pay 100% of eligible prescription drug costs for them. For students earning more than $15,000 but less than $30,000 per year, Fair PharmaCare will pay 70% of eligible costs right away, and the Student Benefits Plan will pay up to 80% of the remainder.
To apply for Fair PharmaCare, go to my.gov.bc.ca/ahdc and have this information ready:
- Personal Health Number (on your BC Services Card)
- Net Income from 2 years ago (line 23600 on your income tax return). If you did not file taxes 2 years ago, you may be able to submit a Fair PharmaCare Proof of Income Affidavit Form
- Social Insurance Number
You will receive your Fair PharmaCare registration number immediately.
If you need help registering, you discover you are already registered, or if you prefer to register over the phone, please call: 604-683-7151 (Lower Mainland) or 1-800-663-7100 (toll-free from anywhere in B.C.).
Once your registration is complete, and you have received your registration number, you must complete the Plan Card Registration Form.
Please note: If you are not a permanent resident of B.C., you must still fill out the Plan Card registration form, providing your home province or country in place of the Fair PharmaCare registration number.
All B.C. residents must be enrolled in MSP. For more information, please visit the British Columbia Ministry of Health website.
Coordination of Benefits
For eligible students who already have a benefit plan, you can utilize both your private plan and your student plan to obtain more coverage. This is called Coordination of Benefits and allows you to maximize your Health & Dental coverage!
How to Get up to 100% Coverage
Use your Student Health and Dental Plan and another plan from your parents, spouse, government, job, or band to maximize your coverage! Your plans can work together to make sure you're getting the most out of your coverage.
The primary insurer is the first payor of the eligible health or dental care costs. Once paid, a claim can be submitted to the secondary insurer for any remaining amounts that are eligible for coverage and not paid by the primary insurance company.
How to identify your primary insurance
If a student is eligible for the Student Health and Dental plan and the student is covered by another plan under a parent's or spouse's as a dependent, the primary insurance is the Student Health and Dental Plan.
Students who have Health or Dental coverage through their school: these plans will always pay before any plan where the student is covered as a dependent.
The Student Health and Dental plan pays first.
If a student is eligible for the Student Health and Dental plan and the student is covered by another plan under job, government, or band the primary insurance is the one you have had the longest.
Students who have Health and Dental coverage through their employer: the student needs to confirm the effective date of all insurances to determine which plan has been in effect the longest.
The plan you have had the longest pays first.
Submitting Claims
After you have identified which is your primary and secondary insurance, submit the claim to your primary insurance first. Once you receive the Explanation of Benefits, you can then submit the remaining unpaid portion to your secondary insurance.
Student Health and Dental Plan as Primary Insurance.
Submit the claim to your student plan (Canada Life). Once processed, submit any portion that remains unpaid to your secondary insurance plan.
Student Health and Dental Plan as Secondary Insurance.
If you have an alternative insurance plan that you are also the primary holder of, and that has been in effect longer than your student plan, all eligible claims will be submitted to your alternative plan first. Once the claim is processed, submit any portion that remains unpaid to your student plan.
Submitting Claims for Your Spouse (if applicable).
Submit the claim to your spouse's primary plan first. Next, any unpaid portion can be submitted to your student plan.
Submitting Claims for a Dependent Child (if applicable).
Submit the claim to the parent's plan whose birthday falls first in the year (this is their primary benefit plan). Next, any unpaid portion can be submitted to the parent’s plan whose birthday falls second in the year.
- Take a copy of your original receipt before you send it to your primary plan as you will need to send a copy to the secondary plan.
- Include a copy of the Explanation of Benefits statement received from the first claim submission (primary plan), as well as a photocopy of the originally submitted receipt when you submit to your secondary plan.
Not Eligible
There are personal insurance solutions available for students who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the Student Plan, who are going to graduate or leave the school, or who miss the deadline to add family members, re-enroll, or opt-in to the Student Plan.
My personal insurance solutions from mystudentplan
My personal insurance solutions fit the needs of students who are not eligible for the Student Health and Dental Plan. This may apply to you because you may not meet the eligibility criteria for the student plan, or you may be changing enrollment status, graduating, or leaving school. There are many coverage and enrolment options at cost-effective rates, including options that do not require medical questionnaires or exams to qualify for coverage.
Personal Insurance Scenarios
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I don't have mystudentplan: I am not eligible to have mystudentplan and want information on purchasing personal insurance. This option also applies to students who missed the re-enroll or opt-in deadline for their student plan.
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I am losing mystudentplan: I am graduating or leaving school and want information on purchasing personal insurance.
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I want to cover my family: I missed the deadline to add family members to mystudentplan and want information on purchasing personal insurance for my family.
The personal insurance solutions are offered in partnership with Canada Life through their Freedom to Choose™ individual insurance products.