Prescription drug claims are changing: TELUS Health to Express Scripts Canada (RSB)

UPDATE: Sun Life has informed UBC that their transition to Express Scripts Canada has been deferred to November 2022; we had previously reported that the change would happen in September 2022 — the story below has been updated to reflect the change. Faculty and staff will not have to make any changes. We will share another update in the Fall edition of Benefits FYI, in advance of the transition. For more details, you can read the Sun Life bulletin, here.

Sun Life will transition its Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM), which is responsible for processing and paying prescription drug claims under your extended health plan, from TELUS Health to Express Scripts Canada (ESC) in November 2022.

This change is directly related to Sun Life’s administrative processing of prescription drug claims, not a change by the University of British Columbia.

Closer to November 2022, Sun Life will share more information with plan members who have provided an email address directly in the www.mysunlife.ca online portal.

What is changing for RSB extended health plan members?

There’s no change to your extended health benefits plan. The contract number is #020605 and your member number is the same as your employee number. The member number is unique for all RSB extended health plan members. You can continue to utilize your old pay-direct drug cards.

This transition should have no impact on your experience at the pharmacy. It’s a change managed in the pharmacy’s system. Sun Life is working directly with the pharmacies and it will happen automatically in the pharmacist’s system. If you change pharmacies, you need to bring your pay direct drug card information with you.

If you download your card now, you’ll see the “Assure” logo. The card will be updated in November 2022,  to include Express Script Canada logo, so it may be helpful to download it again after the transition date.

To print your updated pay direct drug card, go to mysunlife.ca. On mysunlife.ca your pay direct drug card is called your coverage card. Here’s how to find it:

• Once you sign in, go to “Coverage Information”
• Under “Resources”, select “Print my coverage card(s)” or take a photo with your mobile phone.

You can get your updated pay direct drug card on the my Sun Life Mobile app. To view your pay direct drug card, follow these simple steps:

• Download and sign in to the my Sun Life Mobile app
• Under the “Benefits” menu select “Coverage card” and then “Drug card”.

Please note that this change will affect all dependents associated with your plan. Your dependents’ details will not change, but they may wish to download a new card.

If you experience any issues at the pharmacy after November 2022, you can tell them that your new Pharmacy Benefits Manager is Express Scripts Canada and show them your updated pay direct drug card information. They’ll know what this means and update your profile in the pharmacy system.

Need assistance?

RSB plan members can contact Sun Life’s Client Care Centre at 1-800-361-6212, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET to assist with your RSB questions, including any questions you might have around the changes to pay direct drug cards.