Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 4. 2020 – The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) has been working hard this summer to improve coverage under the UMSU Student Health & Dental Insurance Plan (HDIP), a secondary health plan provided to all UMSU members.

“We’re very pleased to offer our members additional coverage for a number of heavily-utilized health-care services,” says Jelynn Dela Cruz, UMSU President. “The UMSU Plan is here to serve students and, with these upgrades, it is now able to do that better than ever.”

Since 2017, the Plan has allowed students to select the coverage best suited to their needs by providing two options: the Enhanced Care Plan, higher coverage at a higher cost, or the Basic Care Plan, lower coverage at a lower cost. This year, as part of UMSU’s continued commitment to supporting members’ well-being, the following further upgrades have been made for 2020-21:

• Maximum coverage for visits to mental health practitioners (clinical psychologists or practitioners with a Master’s degree in Social Work) increased to $1,250 per policy year
• Coverage for physiotherapists or athletic therapists increased to $50 per visit, up to $500 per policy year
• Maximum coverage for visits to chiropractors increased to $500 per policy year (Enhanced Care Plan only)

“It was a campaign promise of this year’s Executive team to increase health coverage when it came to Chiro, Physio, and Mental Health. I am very pleased we were able to follow through on this promise,” states Brendan Scott, UMSU Vice-President Finance & Operations.

Students covered by the UMSU Plan can take advantage of the increased benefits as of September 1, 2020.

President Dela Cruz adds: “Adequate access to health care has always been a pressing issue. In light of COVID-19, need for student security in this area is more evident than in any of the Plan’s previous years. While we celebrate this win for UMSU’s HDIP, we persist in our provincial efforts to advocate to end the inequity within the public health for students by lobbying for fair premiums for international student primary plans and working with the student body to identify further gaps of this system.”

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jelynn Dela Cruz, UMSU President – pres@umsu.ca

Brendan Scott, UMSU VP Finance & Operations – vpfo@umsu.ca