A Typical Liberal Mess

*Karen Patrick, a Canadian Armed Forces military spouse living in Turkey, said she is waiting for MSH to reimburse her for nearly $7,000 in medical claims.*

Public servants, dependents abroad waiting on thousands in health insurance claims

The administration of the Public Service Health Care Plan for more than 1.7 million public servants, retirees and dependents transferred to Canada Life from Sun Life Financial Inc. last July 1.

Some public servants and their dependents living and travelling abroad are out thousands of dollars as problems with their health insurance provider persist.Karen Patrick, a Canadian Armed Forces military spouse living in Turkey, says she is waiting for reimbursement of nearly $7,000 worth of medical claims dating back to September 2023.“Those of us living outside of Canada, working for the government, we’re scared of getting sick,” Patrick said.For months, Patrick was locked out of the system’s online portal. When she could access the site to make claims online, she could only upload three items at a time, so she opted to make her claims by registered mail instead. Patrick said she had also been largely unsuccessful in reaching customer support.

“I’ve tried calling them. I’ve been on hold for I don’t know how long,” Patrick said, noting she had received some emails from MSH International saying the company was working on her files. “We’re paying for a service that we’re getting no return from.”

A sub-contractor to Canada Life, MSH International began administering coverage to public servants and their dependents travelling and living abroad on July 1.

The administration of the Public Service Health Care Plan for more than 1.7 million public servants, retirees and dependents transferred to Canada Life from Sun Life Financial Inc. following a multi-year tendering process.

In February, the Public Service Alliance of Canada filed a grievance against the federal government for its conduct in transferring the administration of the health-benefits plan. The government has said it’s committed to dealing with ongoing issues faced by members.

Interesting Read…