General Information

    By using the collective buying power of our members, and of students across Canada, the King’s Students’ Union is able to offer affordable extended health and dental coverage to all students at King’s. The plan is administered by the KSU (not the university administration). We are given assistance designing, negotiating, and administering the plan through the National Student Health Network, a service of the Canadian Federation of Students.

    Students enrolled in this year’s plan are eligible to receive reimbursement on drug, paramedical, dental and other medical expenses from September 1, 2023 until August 31, 2024. The cost of the health and dental plan for the full coverage year is $351.60.

    As full time King’s students, you are automatically enrolled in both the health and dental plans, and are charged the appropriate fee. Full time students with comparable coverage can opt out of one or both of the plans between September 1, 2023 to September 19th, 2023. Part time students who wish to be covered can opt in to the plan by contacting coordinator@ksu.ca. Students with family members or other dependents who they wish to include on their plan can enroll them by contacting coordinator@ksu.ca.

    The plan offers direct billing for most services. This means that rather than paying the full cost of the service and then sending in receipts to Green Shield, your service provider can bill Green Shield directly and you will have to pay just a fraction (normally one-fifth) of the cost up front. Some smaller providers may not offer direct billing but most pharmacies, hospitals, dental offices, and larger paramedical clinics should be able to direct bill. Make sure you have your health plan card or know your health plan number and tell the person billing you that you have a plan which offers direct billing! Details on how to file non-direct billing claims can be found on Green Shield’s webpage. Green Shield offers online claims and has recently developed a mobile app to help you manage your health and dental plan. Visit the Green Shield Student Centre for more details.

    If you are on the plan, your health and dental plan number is your student number with B00 replaced by UKC. For example, if your student number is B00123456, your health plan number will be UKC123456.

    Questions can be emailed to the KSU’s Services and Campaigns Coordinator, Cameron Pye, at coordinator@ksu.ca or you can give us a call at 902-429-3399.

    The Benefits Guide for 2023-2024 is located here. Please have a read through for plan coverage questions. 

    The Opt-Out Period and the Black-Out Period

    All full time students are automatically enrolled in the plan but can opt out online between September 1, 2023 to September 19th, 2023. Since we cannot finalize the enrolment lists until after the opt-out period closes, Green Shield cannot process our claims (either direct billing or uploaded receipts) until around the first week of October 2023.

    How to Opt Out
     
    1. Log into your DalOnline account at www.dalonline.dal.ca.
    2.  Select “Web for Students”.
    3. Select “Additional Fee/Waiver Application” from the list of options. It should be near the bottom of the page.
    4. Select “Fall Term.”
    5. Enter the required information. In order to opt out you must show that you have existing comparable supplementary health coverage.
    6. Once you submit your information your opt-out is sent to the administrator for review. This review process can take 48-72 hours.
    7. You will receive one of three status updates:
      1. Accepted. You have successfully been opted out.
      2. Declined. Your opt-out has been declined. This usually means you did not show evidence of existing comparable coverage.
      3. Pending. You will be asked to provide additional information, usually this is just seeking clarification regarding your comparable coverage.

    You can opt-out of the health and dental plan from September 1-19. Please provide the requested information as soon as possible or contact the KSU if you have any questions. Once your opt-out has been approved you will receive a credit for the amount reimbursed. It will be placed on your account with the King’s Bursar’s office and will count against future charges (i.e. tuition fees).

    Coverage Basics 2023/2024

    More details of our plan coverage are available here.

    • Prescription Drugs – The plan will cover 80% of the cost of prescription drugs (including prescribed vaccinations and oral contraceptives) up to a maximum of $1000 per year. Almost all pharmacies offer direct billing.
    • Extended Health Service & Emergency Transportation – Reasonable and customary charges for hospital accommodations (long term care is not covered). The plans covers 80% of the cost of land and air ambulance to hospital up to $1,100 per trip for land ambulance and $200 for air ambulance.
    • Medical Items – Reasonable and customary charges for braces, casts, aids for living, canes, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics, and respiratory/cardiology equipment.
    • Optometry – The plan will cover 80% of the cost an eye exam once per two year period. Up to $100 for prescription eye glasses, or $200 for contact lenses.
    • Paramedical services – Paramedical services including massage therapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and others. Different services have different maximum per-session coverage. Total $300 per profession per year with the exception of Psychology which is $1000 per year. Students are able to claim year student will be able to see social workers, counsellors or psychologist!
    • Dental Coverage – The plan will cover 80% of basic and comprehensive services, up to $750 per year.
    • Other Services – Some other services covered include travel insurance and emergency evacuation, home alteration, accidental death and dismemberment, and tutoring/special education post-injury.
     
    Information for Master of Fine Arts Students

    Master of Fine Arts Students can access the 2023 MFA Health Plan Primer here. All questions can be directed to the KSU’s Services and Campaigns Coordinator at coordinator@ksu.ca.

    International Students

    In addition to the Green Shield plan, international students are also automatically enrolled in the DSU International Health Plan. This plan offers comparable coverage to provincial health insurance that Nova Scotia residents have access to. It covers items such as general doctor’s appointments and emergency care. Click here for more information or reach out to dsuhealth@dal.ca.

    Contact Information

    Questions about coverage details, claims, etc:

    • Green Shield at 1-888-711-1119

    If you have any unresolved issues with Green Shield or are unsure about your registration in the plan, please do not hesitate to contact the KSU’s Services and Campaigns Coordinator at coordinator@ksu.ca or 902-429-3399