Great news from Manulife regarding premium relief for Dental and Extended Health Care for the month of May. From the Manulife website:
“We’re covering 50% of your dental premium and 10% of your extended health care premium for the month of May
Unlike anything in recent memory, the coronavirus is having a serious effect on Canadians and our economy. To support you and help provide financial relief to our clients, we are taking a significant step. If you have a fully insured non-refund accounted benefits plan with Manulife, we’re covering 50% of your dental premium and 10% of your extended health care premium (including prescription drugs) in the month of May to reflect the claims activity we’ve seen in April.
There’s no change to your health and dental plan design.
Coverage for your plan members is unchanged.
Regular pre-authorized debit draws for May’s premium will be reduced by 50% for dental and 10% for extended health care for that month.
Responding to the current healthcare environment
The coronavirus has forced many dental and health practitioner offices across the country to close. Generally, dentists are only performing emergency dental procedures. In the case of many other, non-dental health practitioners, virtual appointments and consultations have helped reduce disruption to service. We’ve also seen the adoption of new virtual health solutions. An Advance Bulletin detailing some of the virtual care options available to plan members was sent to you on April 15.
Our relief program helps support you and recognizes some benefits are being underused during the pandemic. Hopefully you will be able to use the money saved to help steer your business and your plan members through this crisis.
No interruption to coverage
Manulife will continue to cover health and dental claims that may be incurred by your plan members during the month of May. And when dental offices and health practitioner clinics re-open, plan members will be able to immediately resume services without any questions or concerns.
Looking ahead to June
We don’t know how long the current government guidelines, physical distancing rules, and business restrictions will last. So, we’re taking it one month at a time. It’s possible that restrictions will ease sooner in some provinces, but last longer in others. It’s also possible that health care providers will come up with creative solutions to dealing with physical distancing requirements. For these reasons, we’ll make decisions about June’s health and dental premium relief when more information is available.
That decision will be guided by our desire to:
help keep coverage in place for plan members,
help support your business through this difficult time, and
respond to the realities of the current healthcare environment.
What to expect
Invoices for May were generated April 17.
As usual, the health and dental premiums are itemized on the invoice.
Before our system pulls your pre-authorized debit payment, we will decrease the amount due by 50% of dental premium and 10% of health premium for the month of May.
If you are a self-administered group that produces your own premium payment, or any group that pays by check, please feel free to reduce your payment by 50% of dental premium and 10% of health premium for the month of May.
If you inadvertently paid your full premium for May, we’ll credit your group’s account 50% dental premium and 10% health premium for the month of May.
At this time, we feel it is appropriate for Manulife to reduce your dental plan premium by 50% and reduce your extended health care premium by 10% for the month of May. This way, we can help you maintain coverage for your plan members and help keep some much-needed money in your company bank account.
If you have any questions, please contact your usual Manulife representative.
Note : If your plan is a type other than fully insured non-refund accounted (such as Administrative Services Only, or fully insured refund accounted), this information does not apply to you. Your group country for actual expenses incurred by your plan members plus any associated fees charged by Manulife for administering your claims.”