FAQ

All tuition-paying students, including those engaged in academic work away from the campuses of the University, are charged compulsory non-academic incidental fees. These include fees for student societies and for campus based services (e.g., Student Services, Student Life, Health Services, Hart House and the Athletics Centre). The GSU fees include designated amounts for student health plans.

The health plan fees were established in the late ’80s through a referendum in which students were asked to support collection of the compulsory fee. Increases to the fee and the establishment of the dental plan fee were approved by student referenda in subsequent years.

As in any democracy, a current voting population makes decisions that affect the future. Current students will likely be asked to make similar decisions for future students.

Your coverage is paid through your ROSI account, and is listed under incidentals. Payment is divided in half, between the fall and winter sessions. For students starting their programme in September, half of the premiums are charged in the fall, and the other half in winter. For students starting their programme in January, their full premiums are charged in January.

For students that start in September, their coverage beings September 1, 2012 and for students that start in January, it begins January 1, 2013.

Coverage terminates August 31, 2013, except for students that graduate after the first semester or leave their program after the first semester. In this case, you are not charged winter fees, and therefore your coverage is terminated December 31, 2012. For students finishing their programs in April, you have paid winter fees, and therefore your coverage expires August 31, 2013.

You are charged tuition and incidental fees in the summer, which is applied to the upcoming academic year. Your insurance is effective from September 1st to August 31st. If you already have alternative coverage, you can opt-out provided you do so within the required time frame. Please visit the Opt-Out section of the Green Shield website for more information and opt-out deadlines.

You will be charged monthly tuition fees and non-refundable one-term incidental fees, which include the fee for insurance. You will be insured from September to December. If you don’t complete your studies by January, you will then be charged non-refundable one-term incidental fees, and will be insured until August 31. At the end of the term for which you were charged fees, you may purchase the “12 Month Extended Insurance”. Forms are available in the GSU Office and online.

The deadlines to purchase the “12 Month Extended Insurance” coverage are:
• for students completing their program in the summer – September 1, – October 5, 2012
• for students completing their program in December – January 2, 2012 – February 1, 2012

Yes. However, you must pay an additional fee. You can enroll your spouse and dependent children. Family coverage forms are available in the GSU Office and online.

You must enroll your dependent at the start of each academic year that you are a registered student. If you are a registered student in September, you must enroll them in September, by October 5, 2012. If you start your program in January, then you can enroll them in January, by February 1, 2013. Students that start in September cannot opt dependents in January unless:

1. A child being born outside the opt-in periods (must be opted in by 30 days of date of birth)
2. Change in marital status (must be opted in by 30 days of date of change in status)
3. Spouse/Partner moving to Canada (must be opted in by 30 days of move)

Your Green Shield ID Number is your student number preceded by “UTG”. Your identification number ends in -00 while each dependent’s number ends with a different number i.e. -01, -02, etc.

Please note that due to the time it takes to update the Green Shield files following student registration and the opt-out period, your information will not be in the Green Shield System. The list of students is sent by the University and used by the insurance company to verify eligibility. If you require a prescription or need to see a dentist between September 1st and November 15th, you can make the payment for the prescription or dentist fees and submit a claim form to Green Shield after November 15th to be reimbursed. For students starting in January, please wait until March 15th.

To make a dental claim, obtain a completed Standard Dental Claim Form from your dentist’s office and submit it to Greenshield. All claims submitted to Green Shield require a GSU Claim Form. Your dentist can send your claim electronically to Greenshield using “UTG” as the Group/Policy Number and your student number as your ID.

If the cost of any proposed treatment is expected to exceed $300, submit to GreenShield a “pre-determination” form from your provider before the treatment begins. If a description of the procedures to be performed and an estimate of the charges are not submitted in advance, Green Shield reserves the right to make a determination of benefits payable based on accepted standards of medical/dental practice. For further information call the Customer Service Centre at 1-888-711-1119.

Green Shield must receive all claims within 12 months from the date of service. All claims should be mailed directly to Green Shield with original receipts at the address on the top left hand corner of the claim form as follows: Green Shield Canada, P. O. Box 1699, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7G6.

Please refer all questions regarding TA benefits directly to CUPE 3902. Telephone Number: 416-593-7057.

Where you or your dependents have coverage with more than one carrier, you can co-ordinate your benefits, which means you can use both plans to receive up to 100% coverage. Submit first to the GSU plan. Green Shield will send you a statement called “Explanation of Benefits” with your reimbursement. You than submit the EOB statement to the other insurance company to be reimbursed for the balance of the claim.

You can opt-out provided you do so within the required time frame. Opt-outs can only be done online or through ROSI. In order to opt-out, you must provide proof of alternative health insurance, this is not provincial health, but a privately purchased benefits plan. The deadlines for opting out are:

• for students enrolled in the Fall term – September 1, 2012 – October 5, 2012
• for new students enrolled in the Winter term – January 7, 2013 – February 1, 2013

Your opt out will not carry over to the next academic year, and therefore you must opt out every year to cancel your GSU benefits.

Student society fees are collected in trust by the University and paid directly to the student society. The student societies, therefore, receive your fees in trust and must issue the refund directly. In addition, ROSI currently cannot handle this transaction on behalf of student societies.