Delays, defaults, robotic responses, explosive wait times… a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) retiree is angry at his insurer Canada Life for not being able to reimburse him for his medication as promised.
“The government should put their pants on. “If Canada Life can’t sort this out within 24 hours, I would impose severe penalties,” says André Bouchard, a retiree who is at the end of his tether.
In recent days, many Quebecers like him have written to the journal to express their concerns that their insurance has switched from Sun Life to Canada Life, owned by the energy multinational controlled by the Desmarais family.
Note that Canada Life’s Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) administration contract, awarded in November 2021, is valued at nearly $515 million.
However, workers’ problems with their insurance are increasingly resembling the federal disaster in Phoenix that deprived workers of their wages. Last May, Le Journal told the story of a former Service Canada director who’s still on the hunt for $20,000.
“The quality of service is scandalous,” Roy Goodall, president of the National Association of Federal Retirees (ANFR), lamented in a public message last Tuesday, noting the failings of Canada Life, which simply cannot provide insurance services to many retirees.
Better at Tim Hortons
In the journal, ex-soldier André Bouchard doesn’t move: “Canada Life swims in incompetence to the point where even fast-food brands have become more efficient than it.”
“Canada Life’s customer service is zero. We can’t even leave our message. In comparison, Tim Hortons recently solved a case with my information in less than 30 minutes,” he says.
“It’s a mess. I waited on the phone for about fifty hours from the start. Their emails aren’t working either,” the ex-soldier continues.
According to André Bouchard, there is a risk that the situation will lead to a crisis among pensioners who live in poorer circumstances and are struggling to make ends meet.
“I paid $124 for my full price medication this month. My wife has to pay nearly $2,000 for another drug next month. That doesn’t make any sense,” he sighs.
Ottawa fights back
The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) contacted by Le Journal argued that the 375,000 Quebec civil servants and retirees in the plan “remain protected and…” [que] Your claims are being processed.
“We recognize that some plan members are struggling to join Canada Life during this major transition. The Government of Canada, including the Minister [Mona] “Fortier, President of the Treasury Board, has regular discussions with Canada Life’s management,” Rola Salem defended to TBS Media Relations.
“Canada Life is taking immediate action and plan members will continue to see improvements over the coming weeks,” she said.
Canada Life apologizes
For its part, Canada Life wanted to apologize to Quebecers.
“We appreciate the patience of plan members who were experiencing longer than usual waits at the service center and we apologize for the inconvenience,” said Diane Grégoire, general manager, Communications-Quebec, Canada Life.
According to her, several calls are coming in from people “who need help joining the plan.” It is said that more than 850,000 claims have been settled despite problems with pharmacy billing.
“We know that not all pharmacies require participants to provide up-to-date information about their insurance coverage, leading to denial of reimbursement claims and slowing down the payment of benefits to participants,” explained Diane Grégoire.
“We encourage plan members to be proactive in bringing their new benefits card to their pharmacy to let them know they are now covered by Canada Life,” she concluded.
–In collaboration with Sylvain Larocque
Can you share information about this story with us?
Write to us or call us directly at 1-800-63SCOOP.