Students who opted out of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) Health and Dental Plan during the change-of-coverage period are still facing unexpected fees. Some students have been charged up to $393 in their Aurora accounts, despite having completed the opt-out process on time.
The Enhanced Care UMSU Health and Dental Plan offers health, dental, vision, and travel coverage to both undergraduate and graduate students. It also includes a legal consultation service for undergraduates. The plan is managed by Studentcare, which serves over a million students across Canada.
Undergraduate students who are members of UMSU and enrolled in at least one on-campus course with a minimum of six credit hours for the fall term are automatically covered by the plan. Full-time graduate students who belong to the University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association (UMGSA) also receive automatic coverage.
Fees for the UMSU Health and Dental Plan are included in student enrollment fees through Aurora, the university’s registration system. Students can opt out during the designated change-of-coverage period by providing proof of equivalent health and dental insurance.
However, students who successfully opted out between August 30 and September 25 still saw fees appear in their Aurora accounts by the October 2 tuition deadline.
An employee from the registrar’s office stated that students who opted out on time and received confirmation via email would not be required to pay these fees. “If they pay, that amount will be credited to their account for winter or future terms,” the employee explained.
Carolyn Wang, UMSU vice-president of finance and operations, expressed concern over the billing issue. “UMSU is troubled to hear that some students were still charged for the UMSU Health and Dental Plan despite opting out before the deadline,” she said.
Wang emphasized that UMSU does not control the Studentcare website where students opt out or Aurora, where tuition fees are billed.
“We have raised these concerns with Studentcare and will continue to do so until all issues are resolved. We are awaiting a meeting with both Studentcare and the University of Manitoba to gather more information about why this happened.”
The Manitoban reached out to Jeff Adams, university registrar and executive director of enrollment services, as well as Studentcare for comments but did not receive responses by our deadline.
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