Central Welfare Trust Fund
To assist members during the slowdown of activity in the construction industry, dealing with social distancing and recognizing the present restrictions on dental and some health services due to the COVID-19 public health emergency at this time, the Board of Trustees of the Saskatchewan Iron Workers Local Union 771 Central Welfare Trust Fund have implemented the following changes to the benefit plan design: Effective May 1, 2020,
vCare: Personalized medical support with healthcare providers via secure text and video chat to address your healthcare needs from the comfort of your home or any other convenient location. To enroll for vCare, you will be required to provide your Policy # and Certificate # (Member ID) – these can be obtained from your Prescription Drug card. If you do not have these, they can be provided by the Plan Administrator.
To register, you must go to the vCare link on the Union website or you can access directly via the secure link vcareregistration.com. When registering, you will be required to create your individual password.
As a first time user, you will then be directed to download the app (search for Akira Healthcare) from Google Play or the iOS store, and will then require your email address and password to access vCare.
Healthcare Navigation: Assistance with navigating the public healthcare system, providing a single point of contact throughout diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation to ensure continuity of care.
Cancer Assistance: Personalized assistance navigating and understanding cancer treatment by oncology nurses and specialists to ensure you get the right treatment at the right time.
Medical Second Opinion: Offers consultation and recommendations to confirm the best course of action about your treatment plans or options. clevelandclinic.ca
Access to Healthcare Navigation, Cancer Assistance and Medical Second Opinion is through contacting Compass Health Care Navigation at 1-866-883-5956. You will be asked to provide your name, Member ID (can be obtained from your Drug Card), your Union Local and possibly your Provincial Healthcare # (depending on the nature of your call).
To also assist Members with social distancing at this time, the Plan will be partnering with Pocket Pills, a digital pharmacy, to offer home delivery of prescription drugs. More information on this service will be forwarded to Members in the near future. In the meantime, please be aware that most pharmacies will provide home delivery of prescription drugs upon request.
Hour Bank / Self-Payments Adjustments
The Trustees have implemented a temporary 25% reduction to the revised Hour Bank monthly deduction and self-pay rates for May and June benefit coverage (ex. the Active Member deduction reduces from $243.75 to $183.00, for Self-Paying Members $100.00 to $75.00 and for Retirees $110.00 to $83.00).
To also assist self-paying members (including retirees), remittances for May and June coverage will automatically be submitted for reimbursement from their Healthcare Spending Account (HSA). Although self-payments are not generally eligible to be reimbursed under an HSA, it will be allowed for May and June coverage only to assist members during the COVID-19 crisis. Please note you must make the self-payment to be eligible for reimbursement from your HSA.
Although our office is currently closed to visitors, we are maintaining regular office hours. You can either call our office at 204-942-4438 or toll-free at 1-888-204-1234 or email 771admin@coughlin.ca.
More information available through the links below.