A federal pensioner suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and her husband were unable to get their medication reimbursed by insurer Canada Life when the tide turned after their public appearance in Washington The newspaper.
“The day the article appeared, Canada Vie contacted us,” said Gilles Bérubé, who is now breathing better. The man contacted Le Journal on Wednesday to say his story was now clear after an article about his problems was published.
“After a few weeks everything was sorted out. We were able to speak to a manager at Canada Life. “The bills have been sent and the money is on the way,” he said happily. Nearly $4,000 in refunds were at stake.
In mid-October, Le Journal shared his story and that of his wife, Nicole Audant, a Parole Board of Canada retiree with Alzheimer’s disease who was struggling to receive promised benefits from Canada Life.
Empire of power
Canada Life is owned by Power Corporation and controlled by the Desmarais clan. The company won the $515 million contract to manage the public health plan, but since then Le Journal has been inundated with disgruntled members who are not getting reimbursed for their medications.
Angered by the ordeal of federal pensioners in Quebec, the Bloc Québécois (BQ) called for an investigation to shed light on the transfer of insurance from SunLife to Canada Life.
“We will also prioritize claims from people in financial difficulty or with urgent needs so that those claims are processed first,” Canada Life spokeswoman Diane Grégoire assured the Journal last month.
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