About - New Service Since 2021-22 Academic Year

In November of 2020, the Students’ Union held a referendum to determine whether to pursue an extended health and dental benefits plan for its membership; the referendum passed in favour of the students’ union pursuing a health and dental plan for its membership starting from the 2021-2022 academic year. The plan cost is subject to a maximum increase of 5% annually.

• 2021-2022 academic year: $260.00

• 2022-2023 academic year: $273.00

• 2023-2024 academic year: $275.00

• 2024-2025 academic year: $285.00

The JISU, as a member of the BC Federation of Students (BCFS), partnered with Green Shield Canada to provide affordable and high-quality health and dental coverage to our members. Since 1957, Green Shield Canada has been Canada’s only national not-for-profit health and dental benefits specialist. Green Shield can help you determine how much of your benefits remain and will even suggest service providers that bill to Green Shield directly.

We have included some common questions about the Health and Dental Benefits Service below.

What are extended health and dental benefits?

Student extended health and dental plans are common in virtually every college and university in Canada, and just like at the Justice Institute of BC, are provided by the Students' Union. The Justice Institute Students' Union's plan will provide access to thousands of dollars in coverage for less than $25 per month, making it among the least expensive extended medical coverage in the country. 

Eligibility Criteria:

The health and dental plan service is applied universally to eligible students:

• Students who are members of JISU

• Students who enrolled in courses of a total of 6 credits or more in one semester.

What’s included in the coverage?

The Students’ Union health and dental plan will provide a huge range of benefits that help students with medical and other issues. A full and detailed overview of what’s included will be available soon.

Your coverage will include things such as:

• coverage for prescription medications;

• coverage for treatments by paramedical providers (physiotherapist, chiropractor, etc);

• coverage for counselling by a social worker or psychologist;

• vision coverage (eye exams, prescription glasses, contacts, etc);

• dental coverage for preventative and restorative work;

• travel insurance;

• a comprehensive Life & Accident Insurance plan; and

• a legal advisory service that provides telephone legal assistance and access to legal representation at a discount.

Note: The JISU extended Health & Dental plan is a 12-month coverage.

Additional Information:

• Eligible students will have coverage beginning in the month of your program start date and ending twelve months later;

• Once you have been enrolled you will receive an email with information about how to access your plan, the plan details, how to make claims, and how to add dependents to your plan.

What is equivalent coverage?

Extended health and dental insurance commonly includes such benefits as prescription medication, paramedical and extended health services and products, and comprehensive dental coverage, each at a level that provides tangible benefits. So equivalent coverage would be a plan that has these essential elements and is generally provided through a parent, spouse or employer. Examples of things that are not equivalent coverage include basic BC government (or other provincial) medical coverage (MSP), travel insurance, emergency medical coverage, and certain individual coverage packages.

Equivalent coverage doesn’t necessarily mean good coverage

Many benefit plans can still leave you with huge financial shortfalls for necessary treatments, prescription drugs or dental procedures. Compare your existing coverage and your bills from last year, and make sure you have enough coverage through your current benefits plan before opting out of the Students’ Union’s plan. If you don’t think your current coverage is sufficient, consider keeping the Students’ Union coverage as well in order to make sure you are fully covered (having two plans means that you can claim from one plan for expenses that are not covered by the other).

How do I opt out?

The deadline to opt out of the plan is 30 days after the start date of your program. Late requests to opt out cannot be accepted because those not opted out by the deadline will have already been enrolled in the Students’ Union’s plan.

Once you have applied to opt out and your request has been accepted, you will be opted out of coverage for 12 months. This means that you must opt out of coverage each year you are a member of the Union.