james t kirk

I work for a corporation of 1,000 professionals in Canada (Engineering Firm). We are part of an international firm of 20,000 professionals.

Obviously, primary health care is covered by the gov't. with the Canadian office.

However, dental and prescription medication is covered by our "benefits" package.

I have one word to describe our private sector benefits package (from Sun Life, previously Green Shield)

TERRIBLE.

It is bare bones. Skeletal in fact.

There are more things not covered than are covered.

Example, about 1.5 years ago, my tooth cracked (long sad story). The dentist initially prescribed some antibiotics.

The cost was around 50 bucks.

Our "plan" covered 8 dollars worth. I had to pay the rest.

The tooth ended up having to be pulled.

The cost of the implant was $1,800.00.

Our "plan" paid zero. That's right, goose egg. Why? (I asked believe me.) Well, I was told that a molar implant was considered "cosmetic"

"You have to be fucking kidding me" was my response. I was then told that Sun Life / Green Shield has many different benefits packages available, some of which cover dental implants, just my employer chose "this package" and well, it doesn't cover dental implants.

The crown for the implant (getting done right now) is about $2,000.00 (I get it next Friday) Can't wait to see how much of that is covered. My guess will be another doughnut.

Bottom line, my company is a large Engineering firm in Toronto. They are as cheap as they come. They make good profits, we have a solid business going, but they'd sooner eat glass than give me any kind of real coverage. (But they tell me all the time that I should be happy because "It's your plan your way")

Anyhoo, I hardly trust the characters that I work for to implement ANY kind of Primary medical insurance coverage. If I ended up needing brain surgery, they would tell me it was "cosmetic" because after all, it was on my head.