Updated: June 29, 2020

COVID-19 has created new health and safety standards for many health care providers. All health care providers must follow these additional standards as set by their associations, regulatory bodies, and levels of government. Please read this communication for information on personal protective equipment (PPE) and group benefits plans.

• Focus Update for Clients with more than 50 employees
• Focus Update for Clients with fewer than 50 employees

Updated June 9, 2020

We know that plan members want to ensure they have enough medication at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the early stages of the pandemic, pharmacy regulators, associations and health ministries recommended that pharmacists provided a 30-day supply to Canadians. This was to help ensure there were enough medications available for all Canadians during the pandemic. Over the last weeks, all provinces have re-evaluated their position and have begun lifting the 30 day supply limits, and reserving these parameters for drugs that are in short supply. We support pharmacists using their discretion in dispensing medications. A plan member might receive only a 30-day supply for their medication, even if their prescription is for more. If a plan member has previously filled a prescription, they may receive a different amount than the last time.

Updated June 15, 2020

We know that in-person visits to many health-care providers may not be available during the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to ensure plan members continue to receive the health care they need. Now, we’ll cover virtual services for appointments where they do not need direct physical therapies. We’re extending claims coverage for virtual services performed by:

• Audiologists
• Chiropodists
• Chiropractors
• Naturopaths
• Occupational Therapists
• Osteopaths
• Podiatrists
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Physiotherapists
• Registered Dieticians
• Social Workers
• Speech Therapists

The practitioner must be in Canada for us to pay claims. Existing coverage remains the same.

We continue to assess other potential virtual services. We’ll keep you informed of any changes.

Making a claim is easy with a photo of the receipt

You can submit a claim on mysunlife.ca or through the my Sun Life mobile app.

To make a claim for a virtual service:

• Select the type of service
• Select the location of service
• For any virtual appointments, select “virtual visit” as the location of service

We have created this Virtual Care flyer for you to share with plan members.

Updated: December 18, 2020

Our top priority is ensuring that plan members continue to receive the care and treatment they need from their health-care providers.

Provinces are moving to more advanced stages of reopening and most health practitioners are now seeing patients. But we know that plan members may still have reduced access to their regular health-care providers. With limited access, it may be difficult for plan members to update prescriptions, referrals and other documents needed to support certain health care claims.

So if any such documents expire before March 31, 2021, we’ll still pay an otherwise eligible claim. This includes:

• Prescriptions, nurse practitioner or doctor referral for paramedical services
• Drug exception forms, which includes prior authorization and special authorization
• Provincial Specialty drug program responses or documentation

As a reminder, we don’t require a wet signature on our drug exception forms. We can accept signatures in e-signature format. Once a plan member has all their forms signed, they can send them to us using the my Sun Life mobile app. They also still have the option to send forms to us by mail or fax. We’ve created this Health & Dental flyer for you to share with plan members.

We plan to reinstate our usual requirements on April 1, 2021. If this changes, we’ll let you know. We hope these steps will help plan members continue to get the care they need.

Updated: April 17, 2020

We’re pleased to provide two new solutions that can help plan members during the current pandemic and beyond.

We’re now covering nurse practitioner prescriptions for specialist referrals and medical expenses. And we’ve put a work-around in place for plan members who can’t print-off online health forms.

This Focus Update explains more. And this flyer on new solutions provides details for your plan members.

Updated April 22, 2020

Right now, dental offices are open only for emergency treatments.

Our standard dental contracts cover emergency dental services, but not virtual assessments. We’ve had discussions with dental associations across Canada.   The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) and the Association des chirurgiens dentistes du Québec (ACDQ) have codes for virtual dental assessments. They are recommending providers use these codes at this time.  For now, we’ve made a temporary change to make the recommended dental codes for virtual assessments eligible for reimbursement. We’ll only reimburse claims for virtual assessments that use the recommended codes. A plan member can call our Client Care Centre if they have any questions about their claim.

When dental offices reopen for regular visits, we’ll no longer reimburse for the services covered by these codes.

Updated April 27, 2020

Ontario is the only province with an Assistive Devices Program (ADP).  This program helps residents with a long-term physical disability pay for assistive devices. These include walkers, wheelchairs, hearing aids and many other aids. Ontario residents can receive a payment equal to 75% of the approved cost of these devices. They must apply to the ADP for this payment.  Here’s how it works:

• Plan members go to an ADP-approved specialist (such as an occupational therapist).
• The ADP specialist completes and submits the ADP form to an ADP-approved vendor.
• The vendor would then submit the form to the ADP to receive their 75% reimbursement and charge the member the balance.
• Once the ADP approves the plan member’s claim, we would then pay the remaining 25% of the claim’s balance.

With most specialist offices now closed, plan members are often unable to have their ADP forms completed. Until July 31, they should still submit a claim or estimate to us for approval. For eligible claims, we will cover the claim or estimate, even without prior ADP approval.