Colin contacted us to complain about the treatment he received when he contacted Health Insurance BC (HIBC), and about concerns regarding his Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums. Colin said that HIBC staff did not assist him to resolve his concerns. Colin explained that he retired in 2005 from the RCMP and applied to have MSP premium payments transferred from his pay cheque to his federal pension plan. Later that year it was determined that his MSP premiums were not being paid. Colin paid the arrears owing for MSP, and starting January 2006, he began attending the Service BC office each month to pay his MSP premiums in person. Colin stopped paying his MSP premiums in January 2018 because he was informed by his pension provider that MSP payments had been taken off his pension since 2006, with the exception of periods when he was employed on and off, and sent to HIBC.

Confused and concerned about this news, Colin contacted HIBC to try and sort out his MSP account. Colin did not know what to do when HIBC staff told him that HIBC records indicated that HIBC only received Colin’s payments as of January 2018, and staff refused to provide him with an email address where he could send his information and concerns.

We contacted a staff person at HIBC and explained the complaint, including Colin’s concerns about the quality of service he received when he contacted HIBC. The staff person looked into the complaint the same day we contacted her, and found that the issue dated back to a time when the Ministry of Health administered the MSP program. The HIBC staff person put Colin on the correct program to recognize the MSP payment made from his federal pension. We were also told that Colin would get a refund of $4,600. She said she would be in contact with the federal pension contact person, and would follow up with the HIBC Quality Assurance team.