Benefits - Plan Member Information

Group Benefits Solutions – Our Role as Plan Administrator

Health Association Nova Scotia is a not-for-profit, non-government, membership based organization with almost 60 years of experience in delivering shared services. One of our core service offerings is Group Benefits Solutions. We provide a range of comprehensive and cost-effective benefits plans, designed to help protect plan members and their families.   Serving over 25,000 active employees and 5,015 retirees, we are the largest, longest-standing provider of group benefits administration services in Nova Scotia’s health system. 

As a third-party administrator for health employers across Nova Scotia, we ensure provincial practices are in place, allowing for competitive and sustainable rates, as well as consistent coverage and benefit administration for all health workers enrolled in our plans. We also have strong governance structures, comprised equally of union and employer (both health authority and continuing care sectors) representatives. These representatives are involved in rate setting, plan design, investment monitoring and so on.  

On a day-by-day basis, we support our Plan Members through a variety of key roles, such as completing enrollments; managing employee and retiree data (including making changes to pertinent plan member information); coordinating claims; plan member communications and much more.

Our team is dedicated to excellence through innovation and outstanding performance built on over 115 years of tried-and-true experience. Contact us toll free at 1-866-886-7246 at any time if you have questions regarding your benefits and we’d be happy to assist you.

Providing You With the Plan Information You Need

The Group Benefits Solutions website is designed to provide Plan Members with the information you need –easy to find and quick to access – with the simple click of a button.  

Whether you wish to learn more about your plan coverage, find a claims form, or have a question, such as, “what is coordination of benefits?” our goal is to make all essential information readily available to you.  
A brief summary of the Health Association’s benefits programs, including eligibility requirements and coverage, is provided in our Benefits at a Glance. More detailed information about each of the following mandatory and optional benefits is also provided on this site:

  • Health Plan            
  • Optional Life Insurance
  • Dental Plan            
  • Optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
  • Basic Life Insurance        
  • Critical Illness Insurance
  • Long Term Disability

In addition, members of our Health and Dental Plans can access their personal accounts on the Manulife Plan Member Secure Site by clicking on the Manulife logo above or by visiting www.manulife.ca/planmember

Extra Pluses for Our Plan Members

Employees enrolled in the Health Association benefits plans also enjoy some additional bonuses of plan membership.  

  • You have access to Johnson Insurance’s Preferred Service Home and Auto Plan.
  • You have access to savings on out-of-pocket expenses and prescription drugs through our Pharmacy Partnerships.
     

HANS Benefits Renewal, April 1, 2018 – Plan Design Changes

The HANS Group Benefits Solutions Service and the Provincial Group Benefits Advisory Committee (a committee of healthcare employers and unions) work together to ensure our benefits plans meet the needs of Nova Scotian HealthCare Workers and remain financially sustainable well into the future (competitive and sustainable rates). One of the ways we work towards these goals is to complete an annual financial review of our benefits offerings. This allows us to determine whether an increase or decrease in rate is required for the next fiscal year.
 
The results of this year’s review revealed that premium changes were required for Health, Travel, Dental, Optional Life, and Optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment. The largest required increased was for the Health Plan. This is because plan member health claims have continued to rise since last year’s renewal, primarily in two key areas: drug coverage and paramedical coverage.
 
The premium changes were implemented effective April 1, 2018. In addition, the following plan design changes came into effect to help reduce the required Health rate increase:
  • There is a $10 co-pay for all paramedical visits excluding practitioners who provide counselling therapy (psychologists, counselling therapists and social workers). The co-pay is applicable to both Active Employees and Retirees.  
  • There is an additional co-pay of $5.00 along with the dispensing fee for prescription drugs (applicable to Active Employees only).
  • There is an additional co-pay of $5.00 along with the dispensing fee for prescription drugs, which will increase to $7.00 (applicable to Retirees only).
The Group Benefits Solutions Service and the Provincial Group Benefits Advisory Committee are working on strategies to help reduce costs in the future. While some factors are beyond our control, there are things that we all can do to help manage costs.  

The following information sheet was developed to provide our plan members with more detail on how much premium you pay each year, how your claims dollars are spent, and the cost drivers impacting our rates. It also describes what we are doing to keep costs down as well as offers tips on how plan members can reduce the impact of out-of-pocket expenses for drugs and help reduce the future costs of benefits.    

Please select the information sheet that reflects the cost sharing arrangement that you have with your employer.

To review Retiree benefit renewal information, please visit the Retiree Benefits page of our website.