About your plan
OCSU, along with many other colleges and universities across Canada, offers an extended health and dental plan to help students cover the cost of medical needs. Our coverage is provided by Green Shield Canada and covers a wide variety of services.
Please note that the Students’ Union is required to adhere to and respect legislation, which governs the protection of privacy. Accordingly, personal information relating to student accounts, health and dental plan enrolment and application, and claims shall remain confidential to approved parties; and the personal details of a student account shall remain confidential to the Students’ Union, Okanagan College and the student. Therefore, private information about student accounts will not be released to parents.
About Your Coverage
How to tell if you’re covered
Eligible students are automatically charged for the plan when they get their fee statement. The easiest way to determine if you are on the OCSU Extended Health & Dental plan is to look at your fee statement.
If you are already on the plan, you will see two lines: One for the extended health plan, and one for the extended dental plan. Combined they add up to either $125/semester or $250 for a 6 month+ program.
Not automatically charged:
- Part time students
- ABE students
- Co-op students
- Students enrolled in programs shorter than 12 weeks in length
What does the plan cover?
Your plan covers a wide range of services. We’ve listed some of the most asked-about ones below. You can check the full range of coverage here.
- Prescriptions: 80% up to $2000/year.
- Dental: 70% for routine care & cleanings up to $700/year
- Chiropractors & Physiotherapists: $45/visit up to $300 a year.
Your GSC ID Number
Your GSC ID is OSU[your student number]-00. So for example, OSU300123456-00. This is the number you give to your health care practitioner to directly bill your claim to Green Shield.
Using and accessing your plan
When you pick up prescription meds, or go to the dentist, or see a physiotherapist, be sure to let the practitioner (or the receptionist) that you have health insurance. Give them your GSC ID number, which is OSU[your student number]-00. A portion of the bill will immediately and automatically be paid by Green Shield (if the service/medical item is covered in your plan) so you pay less money out-of-pocket. This is called direct billing.
You can also manually submit claims. This is useful if your provider doesn’t do direct billing, or you forgot to give them your GSC ID. You submit claims by creating an account on Green Shield’s website – more on that below. A typical claim submission includes filling out a form and uploading a picture of a receipt. Be sure to sign up for direct deposit so you get your money back faster!
If you have any questions about your plan/coverage, feel free to ask us!
For technical issues with your GSC online account, Green Shield are your experts.
How to create an online account
While registering for an online account isn’t necessary to use your plan, it’s strongly encouraged. Registering for online services lets you submit claims manually and gives you access to things like your claims history, health tips, plan details, and more. You can even submit practice claims, which is useful for checking how much Green Shield will pay for your service and how much you will have to pay out of pocket.
Before you can sign up, you’ll need a registration key. To obtain it, head on over to the registration page. Click on the link in the column furthest to the right (“Get a Registration Key”).
From there, all you have to do is fill in the blanks! Remember, your GSC ID is OSU[your student number]-00. So something like, OSU300123456-00.
Once your registration key has been emailed to you, head on back to the registration page. This time, go to the middle column (“Register Here”). Enter your GSC ID number and your registration key, then hit “Continue with registration.” You’ll have to fill in pretty much the same information you entered to get your key (sorry, we know it’s annoying) plus a few more details.
After that, you’re good to go! Take some time to explore your dashboard – there are a lot of useful features to discover.
If you have any problems with registering your account, or you have any questions, please contact us.
When can claims be submitted?
Direct billing and online registration for the plan is not available for students in the first 8 weeks of their program, or the fall semester. This is because students are still adding and dropping classes, as well as adding and dropping the plan. Once the Registration Period is over, students can create their account at student.greenshield.ca and submit any current claims, or back-dated ones to their start date. Students will also be able to directly bill their claims from their service provider at this time.
