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Benefits of Film Frequently Asked Questions for Members on the 60+ Plan

What’s Covered?

The Benefits of Film 60+ plan includes coverage for life insurance (up to age 65), extended health, dental, employee and family assistance program, and substance abuse treatment. Check out the benefit summary for more information about how to become eligible for these benefits.

You can access up to 10 free sessions for a variety of counselling/work life services under the Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP). The EFAP is also available to all 60+ members.
You also get up to $1400 per person, per calendar year for counselling services paid at the coinsurance level for your 60+ Plan Level, please see your booklet online for further details.

Drug coverage is part of the coverage you get when you are eligible for hour bank benefits, however not all prescriptions drugs are covered.
The base Benefits of Film plan which covers about 5000 DINS follows the BC provincial Fair Pharmacare formulary. You can check with your doctor or your pharmacist to see if your medication is covered. These drugs are payable at the coinsurance of your 60+ coverage level – between 30% and 70% of the reasonable and customary cost.
Under the base Benefits of Film plan some additional prescriptions are covered, but require special approval. Your doctor will need to complete a Special Authority Request form and submit it to BC Pharmacare for approval. When it has been approved, you can send this to benefitsoffilm@aga.ca to submit to Canada Life, or you can submit it directly to Canada Life by calling them at 1-855-729-1839. Once the approval is set up on Canada Life’s system you will be able to use your drug card to purchase the medication going forward.
As of May 1st 2022, another additional 11,000 drugs in addition to those covered under the base Benefits of Film plan are covered under the Supplementary Drug Plan (TELUS’s Complete Managed Formulary). These drugs are payable at 80% the coinsurance of your 60+ coverage level – between 30% and 70% of the reasonable and customary cost. For example if you purchase a covered drug that costs $50 and you are covered in Level 1 at 30%, you will be reimbursed $12.00 - $50 x 0.80 x 0.30. If your drug gets paid at 80%, check with your pharmacist to see if it is eligible on the BC Fair Pharmacare as a special authority drug – if approved, you could get reimbursed at the full coinsurance for your 60+ coverage level if your Special Authority Request is approved.
You can check whether your drug it’s covered by accessing the Canada Life GroupNet website or app and using the DIN lookup tool. You can also check whether the drug is covered under the base or supplementary plan.

Yes you should buy additional coverage. Your plan will only cover you for emergency out of country medical expenses up to the lifetime maximum of your 60+ plan - $25,000 to $45,000 depending on your level of coverage.
Your plan does not include group medical assistance, trip cancellation or lost baggage coverage.

If you had money remaining in your health spending account when you moved to the 60+ plan, you can continue to submit claims under policy 58197 until this balance has been used up or expired as long as you are paying active union member dues.

How Does the 60+ Plan Work?

Your coverage level is based on the accumulated hours worked under IATSE Local 891 contracts as shown below. The same benefits are covered for all levels, you just get reimbursed at a different level based on your accumulated hours. For example if you purchase an eligible medication that costs $40 and you are covered under Level 1, up to $12 of that cost can be covered under the plan. If you are covered under Level 5, up to $28 of that cost would be covered.
The amount paid to you for medical and vision benefits goes towards your lifetime maximum.
Coverage Level Hours worked Plan pays % of costs Lifetime maximum payout for medical and vision claims
Level 1 20,000-29,999 30% $25,000
Level 2 30,000-39,999 40% $30,000
Level 3 40,000-49,999 50% $35,000
Level 4 50,000-59,999 60% $40,000
Level 5 60,000+ 70% $45,000

Lifetime maximums are per person covered, so if you and your spouse are both covered under Level 1, you both claim up to $25,000.

Contact AGA Benefit Solutions to confirm the number of hours – call at 1-800-218-7018 or email to benefitsoffilm@aga.ca or contact the Union office at benefitsoffilm@iatse.com or 604-664-8914.

Yes if you accumulate at least 280 worked hours in your hour bank, you can transfer back to the active plan. Contact AGA Benefit Solutions if you want to transfer your coverage back.
Hours worked after you transfer back to the active plan do not count towards your 60+ eligibility. Your eligibility level is set at the time you first transfer to the 60+ plan.

Submitting Claims

There are different policy numbers for different benefits
  • for health & dental claims use policy 58198
  • for health spending account claims use policy 58197
  • for D&A Rehab claims use policy 58200

IATSE Local 891 Employee Life & Health Trust

You can download and save a digital card by signing into your GroupNet account online or print a paper copy. Go to https://my.canadalife.com/sign-in and click on help centre. If you still want a plastic card, email benefitsoffilm@aga.ca to request a new drug card. Please allow up to 6 weeks for the new card to arrive.

You can submit receipts online through your GroupNet login or you can mail a paper claim form and your receipts to the address on the form. Go to Forms/Extended Health and Dental.

For health and dental claims you have 18 months from the date you incur (pay for) the expense to submit, however you can only submit online for 12 months from the date of expense.
Healthcare Spending account claims must be submitted by 90 days from the end of the health spending account plan year. Your plan year is from July 1st each year to the following June 30th so claims must be submitted by September 28th for any expenses that you paid for up to June 30th of that year.
Example
  • if you have an expense from June 15th, 2021, it must be submitted by September 28, 2021
  • if you have an expense from July 15th, 2021, you have until September 28th, 2022 to submit the claim

Contact the Union Hall for these forms 604-664-8910 or email: benefitsoffilm@iatse.com.

All of your claims payments include an explanation of benefits, and you can view this information online through your groupnet account. The explanation of benefits will include a reason for why the claim was not paid or not paid in full. If you still have questions about your extended health, dental or healthcare spending account claim, please contact Canada Life customer service at 1-855-739-1839.

Changing Your Information

Complete a Group Change Form (Extended Health & Dental). You can return this by email, fax or mail
Email: benefitsoffilm@aga.ca
Fax: 905-477-2249
Mail: 675 Cochrane Drive, Suite 301E, Markham (ON) L3R 0B8

A dependent must be a Canadian citizen and have health coverage with your province,
Children are eligible if they under 21 or any age if still attending school full time
Children who are disabled and financially dependent can be covered but must be approved by Canada Life. Go to Forms\Health & Dental Enrolment & Change Forms\Overage Dependent Form. Complete this form and return to AGA Benefit Solutions.
A spouse is eligible as of the date of marriage
A commonlaw spouse is eligible once you have been living together for 12 months but you must complete a commonlaw declaration form. Go to Forms\Enrolment & Change Forms\Commonlaw declaration forms

The Union Hall or AGA Benefit Solutions.

You are automatically enrolled for basic life if you are under age 65, and employee and family assistance benefits and substance abuse treatment as long as you remain a member.
To enrol in the 60+ plan you must complete a 60+ opt in form and submit it to AGA Benefit Solutions – your coverage will be become active on the first day of the month following the date the form is received by AGA Benefit Solutions.
If after enrolling on the 60+ Plan you return to work and 280 hours have been deposited to your hour bank you will be automatically added to the hour bank benefits – extended health, dental, critical illness, ad&d and disability benefits. You will get an email from AGA Benefit Solutions with a link to enrolment forms – use these forms to add your dependents to your plan.

You can make this change online. Go to Member Login, select Dependent and then select Beneficiary and click Change. You can also go to forms, and print a beneficiary form, complete and sign it and return by email, fax or mail to AGA Benefit Solutions.