NBA asks Board to declare PharmaCare Tie-in "void"

On July 12 the Nurses Bargaining Association (NBA) filed an application with the BC Labour Relations Board against both the Health Employers Association (HEABC) and the Health Benefits Trust (HBT) asking for a ruling that the employer failed to meet its obligations to bargain in good faith regarding the PharmaCare Tie-in. The application outlines the many disparities between the information provided to BCNU in bargaining and the actual coverage now being provided to members. BCNU relied in good faith on the employer's claim that only one of the top one hundred drugs used by members was not available under the PharmaCare Tie-in. This information proved wildly inaccurate.

In June, BCNU filed an Industry Wide Application Dispute over HEABC's failure to apply what was bargained in negotiations in 2012, from drug coverage to numerous process issues such as the length of time it takes to get a special authority approved.

The current application asks the Board to agree that disclosures made by HEABC and/or HBT during bargaining were "lacking, inaccurate and/or misleading". The application asks the board to declare the agreement covering the PharmaCare Tie-in "void" and argues that "the parties should be ordered to negotiate following full disclosure of all relevant information that is accurate in substance".

If you have experienced problems with your prescription drug coverage, please report it to pharmacare@bcnu.org , and complete the PharmaCare Tie-in Implementation Survey available on the BCNU member portal.