Treasury Board has now approved the PSHCP renewal deal, which includes substantial enhancements across many health-care categories from vision care to mental health to paramedical coverage.
Federal Retirees is pleased to announce that on Sept. 26, 2022, Treasury Board president Mona Fortier approved the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) renewal with new benefits starting July 1, 2023.
“We are very pleased that the Treasury Board has agreed to the joint recommendation for the PSHCP,” said Federal Retirees president and PSHCP pensioner representative Roy Goodall. “The renewed plan will allow our members to enjoy new benefits and enhanced coverage for vision care and paramedical services. Other changes will ensure that plan premiums remain low and affordable.”
Read more about the renewal and what it means for plan members.
Fortier confirmed the plan changes and new benefits that were agreed upon by the Partners Committee this summer, following negotiations that had been ongoing since early 2019.
Substantial increases and enhancements were gained across as many health-care categories as possible to have maximum impact for a majority of plan members. Members will experience significant improvements to their benefits coverage, including enhancements to vision care, mental health and paramedical coverage, among many other categories. Members will also have an easier time accessing their benefits because many services will no longer require a prescription to be eligible for coverage.
“At every step of this process, the Federal Retirees team supporting the pensioner representatives have put retirees’ needs first,” says Association CEO Anthony Pizzino. “From improved hearing aid and vision care coverage to more meaningful paramedical coverage across most benefit categories and an increase to the emergency benefit while travelling, the new PSHCP will help pensioners save money and achieve better health and well-being. And we’re very proud the enhancements we’ve gained respond directly to the concerns our members identified when we surveyed them on the PSHCP in 2017.”
In 2017, the Association surveyed nearly 19,000 members and received more than 8,500 responses. When asked for their top priorities for PSHCP improvements, members said vision care, eliminating restrictions to accessing physiotherapy and massage therapy, better paramedical and hearing aid coverage, improvements to hospital coverage and emergency travel benefit enhancements were most important to them. The renewed PSHCP delivers on each of these priorities.
The renewed PSHCP may alter how you and your providers approach your health care, and some plan members will have questions and need help navigating these plan changes when they come into effect in July 2023. Members should rest assured that these changes will be communicated clearly and with advance notice and that all plan members will be able to access support and assistance when these measures are implemented in July 2023.
Plan members should also remember that the PSHCP will be administered by a new provider starting July 1, 2023. Be sure to keep your personal information up to date by contacting Sunlife and responding to Canada Life over the coming months as they contact PSHCP members to complete enrolment.