Locals 29, 31, 35, 40, 85: Changes to VON national benefits plan taking effect April 1, 2018

Dear Member,

The Employer has communicated to the Union a change in the national VON benefits plan that you are a member of. This change, which takes effect on April 1, 2018, impacts the prescription drug plan.

The plan will provide for a mandatory generic substitution for drugs covered by the plan. The Employer has outlined that drug costs are the most expensive part of the employee health plan and is currently working with Desjardins to manage overall costs of the plan.

Notification has been sent to you ahead of time by the Employer to allow for notice to your physician and pharmacists to submit any required paperwork to avoid any additional impact that this change may represent. Should any member have a documented aversion to a generic drug that they are prescribed, there are steps that can be taken to continue to have the name brand drug prescribed to you. While these aversions are quite rare, they do exist and the Employer should assist you to ensure that you are not being mandated to be prescribed a drug that you have an aversion to.

The Union has reviewed your collective agreement upon notification of this change and can confirm that this does not represent a violation of your collective agreement.

If any member has a concern or question regarding this, you should take the opportunity to speak to the contact provided by the Employer in their communication to you to discuss. (Jennifer Seehra – Jennifer.seehra@von.ca) If you feel like you are not getting an appropriate answer to your concerns, please feel free to contact the Union to see how we can be of assistance.

In Solidarity,

Rick Wiseman / Corry MacKinnon

Employee Relations Officers