A variety of common questions and their associated answers are available below.

ENROLLMENT 

Who is automatically enrolled?

  • All full-time graduate students at Carleton University are automatically enrolled in the GSA health and dental plan. Students can confirm if they are enrolled by logging in to Carleton Central and checking for the “Health Insurance (Grad)” charge for to your student account. All other graduate students, including part-time and co-op students may elect to opt-in to the plan. If you are not a fall program start student, are a coop student, switch your student status to part-time or are a part-time student, you are not automatically enrolled in the healthplan and are responsible for doing so by the deadline if you are interested in health insurance. 

When can I begin using my benefits?

  • For students enrolled in September, benefits are effective September 1. However,  depending on when you enrolled to your program or if you recently changed student status, you may experience a waiting period before being able to access your benefits.

What is a waiting period?

  • The University provides the GSA with a list of all eligible graduate students who have been charged the health and dental plan fee at the end of August. This file is activated so that students who enrolled prior to the file date can begin accessing benefits on September 1. The University provides the GSA with additional files throughout September and a final file after the add/drop deadline. Therefore, if you changed your student status within this period, your coverage may not be activated immediately. This period is referred to as the waiting period. Regardless of when your coverage is activated, September start students’ benefits are retroactively effective to September 1. This means if you used any of your benefits beginning September 1, you can submit them to GSC once your enrolment is activated for consideration. The waiting period is about two months to be activated. You can submit claims retroactively. 

I changed my student status after September 30, am I enrolled?

  • Students can add or withdraw from courses during the month of September. In special circumstances, the University may allow exceptions to this rule after the specific deadlines. In the event of these special exceptions, students should consult their Carleton Central account to verify if the “Health Insurance (Grad)” charge for has been applied. 

How much does it cost?

How am I charged for the plan?

  • Full-time graduate students are automatically enrolled and charged for the plan. The charge is made to students’ accounts. Students who elect to opt-in to the plan, or who opt-in dependents, will make payment by credit card via the GSA’s Opt-In tool. For more details on opting-in, please visit our Costs, Opt-in, Opt-Out page.

I am trying to use the plan but am told I am not enrolled, what now?

  • If you are trying to use your plan, ensure you are using your correct GSC member ID. This is the prefix CAR followed by your Carleton University student number and -00. For example, CAR101234567-00. If you enroll a spouse/common-law partner to the plan, their GSC member ID is the same as yours with the exception that the last two digits following the dash is -01. Dependent children will be -02, -03, -04, etc from oldest to youngest in age.
  • If you are using the correct GSC member ID, please consult your Carleton Central account and verify you have been assessed the “Health Insurance (Grad)” charge for  If this charge is not present, or you have been refunded for this amount, it means you are not enrolled as you are not eligible for the plan or opted-out.
  • If you are using the correct GSC member ID and have verified that you have been charged for the plan, please email [email protected] and include a screenshot of your Carleton Central fees statement.

OPTING-IN / OPTING-OUT

Can I opt out of the plan?

  • Full-time students who are already covered under a comparable or better insurance plan may opt to leave the plan, with a refund. An application to opt-out must be submitted to GSC before the opt-out deadline.  No exceptions can be made if these steps are not completed by the deadline. After completing the opt-out application, students will receive a confirmation email that their application to opt-out has been received. If this email is not received, the application to opt-out was not successfully submitted.
  • Applications to opt-out are assessed for eligibility and comparable alternative coverage is verified. Once approved, students will receive an email notification notifying them of a successful opt-out and a refund will be applied to the student account via Carleton Central by the start of November. If you have not received your opt out by then please contact [email protected].
  • Please remember that having UHIP or OHIP is not equal or comparable coverage and will not qualify as alternative coverage for an opt out.
  • For more information on opting-out, please visit Costs, Opt-in, Opt-Out page.

I am an international student. Can I opt-out of the GSA plan using UHIP?

  • No, the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) is not comparable coverage to the GSA health and dental plan and cannot be used to opt-out of the GSA plan. UHIP provides students with access to primary care, such as visiting a doctor, hospital coverage, and emergencies. The GSA health and dental plan provides students with supplemental benefits, such as prescription medications, practitioners, vision, dental, travel, and more.

I opted out of the wrong plan, what now?

  • Students must opt-out using the GSC opt-out tool before the opt-out deadline. More information on opting-out can be found on our Costs, Opt-in, Opt-Out page. Students who have opted-out of the wrong plan, which is discovered after the opt-out deadline, will not be opted-out of the GSA health and dental plan. Make sure you opt out correctly as we wuill be unable to support you if you opted out of CUSA instead of the GSA.

Can I enroll my family?

  • Students who are enrolled to the GSA health and dental plan choose to opt-in their family – specifically their spouse/common-law partner and/or dependent children. All dependent children must be under the age of 21 unless enrolled in post-secondary school, full-time, then up to age 25. Students must submit an application to opt-in family by the opt-in deadline. For more information, visit our Costs, Opt-in, Opt-Out page.

BENEFITS

What are my benefits?

  • The GSA health and dental plan covers supplementary benefits, including prescription medications, medical items, practitioner visits, the Inkblot Therapy student assistance program, eye exams, glasses and/or contacts, teeth cleanings and dental visits, emergency  travel coverage, AD&D, and more. Visit the GSC Student Centre to review all of your benefits.

What if I have another benefit plan?

  • If you are enrolled in benefits under another benefits plan, you can remain on the GSA health and dental plan and use both plans to your benefit. This is called coordinating benefits. Depending on the plan that you are enrolled in, one plan becomes the primary plan payer and the other plan becomes the secondary plan payer. Please contact your other plan provider or GSC at GSC Everywhere online portal (gsceverywhere.ca) or the GSC Customer Service Centre at 1.888.711.1119 or [email protected] to ask more information on how to coordinate your benefits.

How do I submit claims?

  • Direct Billing – Payment Direct to Provider: many providers, like pharmacies, dentists, and more will offer direct billing payment direct to provider. This means that GSC will pay the available benefit claim amount directly to the provider, leaving you with less out of pocket expenses. Ask your provider before seeking service if this type of payment is offered.
  • Provider Submission of Claim: some providers will offer to submit the claim directly to GSC on behalf of the student. The claim will then be processed and paid directly to the student. This is an excellent reason to sign up for GSC Everywhere and enter your direct deposit information as claims reimbursement is often deposited within 72 hours of claim submission. The type of claim submission requires the student to pay out of pocket the full cost to the provider and be reimbursed by GSC.
  • Student Pays Provider and Submits Claim: this method of claim submission requires the student to submit their details of their claim to GSC directly. This can be done by creating a GSC Everywhere account and submitting the claim on your computer or using the GSC Everywhere mobile app.

I am a student living in another province outside of Ontario, will my GSA health and dental plan work?

  • Yes, claims made out of province will be considered for reimbursement. All practitioners providing the services must be licensed by their respective provincial licensing body in order for claims to be processed.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

I am an international student. What is UHIP?

I am an international student. Am I enrolled in the GSA health and dental plan?

  • Yes, international students enrolled in full-time study are automatically enrolled to the GSA health and dental plan if they are a Fall start student. International students may choose to opt-in their spouse/common-law partner and/or dependent children to the plan. All dependent children must be under the age of 21 unless enrolled in post-secondary school, full-time, then up to age 25. Visit our Costs, Opt-in, Opt-Out page for more information.

I am an international student. Can I opt-out of the GSA plan using UHIP?

  • No, the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) is not comparable coverage to the GSA health and dental plan and cannot be used to opt-out of the GSA plan. UHIP provides students with access to primary care, such as visiting a doctor, hospital coverage, and emergencies. The GSA health and dental plan provides students with supplemental benefits, such as prescription medications, practitioners, vision, dental, travel, and more.

SUPPORT

I have more questions. Where can I receive help?

  • Questions about enrolment, opting-in, or opting-out can be emailed to [email protected] or by visiting the GSA office at 600 Nideyinàn (Former UC)
  • Questions about benefits, making claims, claims reimbursement, or providers can be made to GSC directly at GSC Everywhere online portal (gsceverywhere.ca) or the GSC Customer Service Centre at 1-888-525-7587 from 8am-8pm or [email protected].