Frustration abounds as public service health plan gets switched to Canada Life – CBC

Complaints include long wait times, concerns about coverage

Jul 10, 2023

Dorène Hartling estimates she’s called Canada Life close to two dozen times over the last week, each time failing to speak to an agent no matter what time of the day she rings.

Almost immediately, she gets the same message.

“Our service representatives are temporarily unavailable due to higher than normal call volumes.”

With a big sigh, Hartling has one word to describe how she feels: “frustration.”

She’s not alone. On July 1, the country’s largest health-care plan switched providers to Canada Life Assurance Company, bringing more than 1.7 million federal public servants, retirees and their dependents with them.

For Hartling, her husband Stephen, and many others, the transition has been anything but smooth.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/canada-life-overwhelmed-call-volume-public-servants-1.6900064