PEA Member Access to Fertility Treatment Restored

Dear PEA members,

The Union has recently been made aware that members have had access to coverage for fertility treatment denied by Pacific Blue Cross (PBC). This has been occurring despite coverage for treatment and/or drugs, up to a combined lifetime maximum of $3000.00, being a member entitlement under the Collective Agreement since, July 1, 2024.

Through your Union’s advocacy, the Employer has recognized the error in denying treatment for fertility coverage and has agreed to repay any amounts owing from previous wrongful denials and to open eligibility for new claims.

Members who have been previously denied coverage and have a debt owed to them, are encourage to reach out to Kam Cheema, Director, Total Compensation and Recruitment at kcheema@uvic.ca, for assisting in accessing repayment.

If you would like to keep your coverage information confidential from UVic HR and have a claim owing or difficulty making a new claim, please do not hesitate to reach out to PBC directly at 1-877-722-2583.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at sportman@pea.org.

In solidarity,

Stephen Portman
Labour Relations Officer

PS. Our thanks to members for the historic participation in the UVic 2025 Bargaining survey. We received over 600 responses and are actively reviewing all the feedback as we continue our proposal development in anticipation of bargaining in the fall. We will have an update and schedule for future member town halls soon so stay tuned! If you missed the chance to complete the survey and still have input that you would like your bargaining committee to hear and consider, please send you comments to me directly and I will see that your view is incorporated in our review, sportman@pea.org.