DrugWatch Implementation Held Off
BCIT has advised the FSA and BCGEU that plans to restrict member access to certain drugs through ManuLife have been put on hold.
ManuLife has implemented a drug screening process it calls DrugWatch that is explicitly meant to control the cost it incurs through its insurance plans. ManuLife provides benefits coverage for all BCIT employees as part of a consortium of BC colleges. DrugWatch was to be applied to our coverage as of April 1.
The FSA and BCIT’s BCGEU locals protested this change and gave the employer a number of arguments why our drug coverage should not be restricted in this way. BCIT acknowledged that the arguments we provided helped them convince the consortium and ManuLife to postpone implementing DrugWatch at least until July 1, 2017. That date is significant because the contract for administering benefits for the consortium is currently being tendered and a new contract is expected to be implemented at that time.
Cost containment remains a priority for insurers and employers, as well as the provincial government. The FSA remains prepared for the possibility that a new benefits management contract might also contain similar restrictions on drug coverage. We will be working with our partners in the sector to try to ensure that new limits on drug coverage are not part of the benefits agreement beyond 2017 and we will be preparing to fight those restrictions should they be proposed again.
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