Notice to Executing Agencies: CHCP (November 2008)

If you manage CIDA students and/or CIDA trainees, the following is intended for you.

The Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) of the Contracting Management Division has recently put in place a new contract for the administration of the CIDA Health Care Plan (CHCP) for students and trainees. Cowan Benefits Consulting administers this new contract. Trainees include "any country national coming to Canada under CIDA auspices", regardless of their level of responsibility.

To find out more about the management of students and trainees, please consult Management of Students and Trainees in Canada: Manual for executing agencies.

According to its regulations, CIDA is to pay for health care costs for all CIDA students and trainees during their stay in Canada. Coverage of the CHCP, the only health care plan authorized by CIDA, starts on the day of their arrival and ends on their departure day. In some cases, coverage may be valid for outside Canada, if the trip is pre-approved by CIDA.

In order to reduce the risk of misuse, several important changes have been made to this Plan and we invite you to take note of these new procedures that take effect today.

Secure Web site: a Web site has been developed and is entirely dedicated to the CIDA Health Care Plan (CHCP). This portal is intended primarily for 4 users: CIDA students and trainees, CIDA Project Officers, CIDA executing agencies and Canadian healthcare providers.

We invite you to visit the CIDA Health Care Plan.

Authorization: a written authorization from the CIDA Project Officer is required for any executing agency that needs to enrol individuals in the electronic enrolment system. These authorizations are valid for 12 months. On the eleventh month, the system will generate an email asking you to renew your authorization.

Electronic Enrolment: changes were made to the electronic enrolment system; namely, all passwords and user names issued before January 1, 2008, will soon be renewed. Project Officers will need to send an email to Cowan for each executing agency that requires a password.

New Eligibility Cards: new cards have been printed and since CIDA has to pay for each card issued, the duration of the coverage is no longer limited to one year but must cover the complete duration of the stay. For example, if a student is coming to Canada for four years, the same card will be valid for four years. The executing agency can indicate an estimated departure date, which can be modified subsequently, when the exact date is known.

As of now, the person that does the electronic enrolment for an executing agency is entirely responsible to receive the cards issued by Cowan and to ensure a secure distribution directly to the students and trainees, without any intermediary. This should reduce the risk of loss, error and cost to CIDA.

It is important that executing agencies to continue to follow the current basic procedures:

• be accurate when entering dates and years for the start and end of coverage;
• distribute the cards in a secure manner;
• always modify the date of end of coverage when the departure date is confirmed or when the duration of the stay is shortened;
• if possible, when the student or trainee leaves, retrieve the card and destroy it.

We appreciate your cooperation and your professionalism in the utilization of the CIDA Health Care Plan (CHCP).

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your Project Officer, or Cowan or the TAU.