About Your CUPE EWBT Benefits Plan
The CUPE EWBT was established to provide a single, province-wide benefits plan for eligible CUPE education workers and their dependants. The plan includes life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, health and dental benefits.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for administering the Trust Agreement and making decisions in the best interests of plan members.
Guiding Principles
The trustees are guided by one overarching principle: to provide a single, comprehensive and affordable life, health and dental benefits plan to eligible CUPE members and their dependents that:
- Enhances member well-being
- Is efficiently managed
- Balances member needs, accessibility and future sustainability
Your Trustees
The CUPE EWBT Board includes trustees appointed by CUPE, the Crown and the Council of Trustees’ Associations (CTA). This structure helps ensure different perspectives are represented in the governance of the trust.
Trustees Serving in 2025
| Gary Goddard, Chair | Tammy Graham |
| Daniel Bourgeois (Appointed May 5, 2025) | Carrie-Lynn Poole-Cotnam |
| Lisa Callaghan ( Appointed January 28, 2025) | Karen McRae |
| William Campbell (End date of February 28, 2026) | Craig Young |
| Dan Crow (End date of February 28, 2026) |
2025 Highlights
In 2025, several plan updates were introduced to help manage costs and support long-term sustainability.
Therapeutic Class Pricing
Therapeutic class pricing was introduced for some prescription drugs to help manage plan costs and support the long-term sustainability of the plan. In some drug categories, there may be more than one treatment option that is considered safe and effective. Under this approach, the plan reimburses eligible costs based on a clinically selected reference drug in that category.
Preferred Biosimilars
In 2025, the CUPE EWBT moved to preferred biosimilar medications where appropriate. Biosimilars are highly similar to existing biologic drugs and are reviewed for safety and effectiveness. This change helps members continue to access appropriate treatment while supporting more cost-effective use of plan dollars. A six-month transition period was provided, and affected members were contacted directly.
Weight Management Medications
Effective January 1, 2025, weight management medications were no longer covered for new prescriptions. Members who were already approved for these medications received written notice and had a four-month transition period. Coverage for these medications ended on May 1, 2025.
Member Premium Share
Effective September 1, 2025, the member premium contribution for Tier 1 members increased from 4% to 5.25%. This change was part of the trust’s work to respond to current cost pressures and help protect the financial position of the plan.
Find additional details about the plan design changes in 2025 in the 2025 Q2 newsletter.
New Digital Platform for Managing Benefits
In August 2025, OTIP launched My Member Account, a new digital experience that allows you to manage your benefits and OTIP policies and services. By the end of 2025, almost 10,000 CUPE EWBT members registered for My Member Account.
Canada Life
Canada Life continued to support CUPE EWBT members through life insurance, health and dental claims administration.
Highlights from Canada Life’s 2025 report included:
Your Plan by the Numbers
As of the end of 2025, the CUPE EWBT continued to support CUPE education workers across Ontario.
Plan Membership
- Approximately 53,596 members were protected by the trust
- Approximately 123,890 individuals were supported when eligible family members were included
- The trust continued to support members across Ontario’s education sector
Financial Overview
The CUPE EWBT is funded through a combination of employer funding, member contributions and investment income.
- School board funding based on full-time equivalent staffing positions, as set through negotiations between OSBCU/CUPE, the Crown and the Council of Trustees’ Associations
- Member contributions
- Investment income
2025 Financial Results
In 2025, the plan received funding from the following sources:
• Full-time equivalent staff funding: $240.9 million
• Member contributions: $16.5 million
• Return on investments: $7.7 million
Most of this funding goes toward paying member claims and the premiums charged by the plan’s insurance providers.
What This Means for Members
The plan continues to provide important benefits to members and their eligible family members. At the same time, the cost of claims and plan expenses continues to rise faster than available funding.
In 2025, this meant the plan’s operating costs were higher than its revenue for the fourth year in a row.
The trust’s audited financial statements showed net assets available for benefits of $64.8 million as of December 31, 2025, compared with $71.8 million as of December 31, 2024.
Trustees continue to carefully review costs, funding, plan design and other options to help protect the long-term sustainability of the plan.
| Net Assets Available for Benefits as of Dec. 31,2024 | $71,835,451 |
| Total Revenue and One-time Items | $269,090,636 |
| Less Operating Costs | $276,115,750 |
| Operating Excess / (Shortfall) | ($7,025,114) |
| Net Assets Available for Benefits as of Dec. 31, 205 | $64,810,337 |
Funding and Expenses
(Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025)
| Funding | Millions |
| All Funding Sources (net of retail sales tax) | $269.1 |
| Expenses | |
| Health and Dental Claims (Canada Life) | $243.3 |
| Life Insurance Premiums (Canada Life) | $11.7 |
| Global Assistance (Canada Life) | $0.2 |
| AD&D Premiums (Chubb) | $0.8 |
| Benefit and Trust Adminstration Costs | $12.7 |
| Premium Tax | $4.9 |
| Total expenses | $276.1 |
| Net assets (beginning of year) | $71.8 |
| Change in net assets | ($7.0) |
| Net assets (end of year) | $64.8 |
Looking Forward to 2026
In 2026, the trustees will continue to focus on protecting the long-term sustainability of the plan while supporting the needs of the CUPE EWBT members and their families.
Key priorites for 2026 include:
- Reviewing and updating the Strategic Plan
- Reviewing plan design options that support financial sustainability and member needs
- Strengthening partnerships with providers to identify savings opportunities
- Continuing to goven the trust responsibly, including reviewing and updating policies as needed
- Rolling out mandatory MemberRx for all plan members, where applicable
The CUPE EWBT remains committed to keeping members informed as this work continues.
The trust continues to provide important life, health and dental benefits to CUPE education workers and their eligible family members. The trustees will continue to make careful decisions to help protect the plan’s long-term health.
Thank you for being part of the CUPE EWBT. By staying informed, understanding your coverage and using your benefits wisely, you help support the plan for all members.
For more information, visit www.cupe-ewbt.ca.
Questions?
Visit the Contact Us page on the CUPE EWBT website to find the right contact for your question.
- Plan enrolment, eligibility and premiums: OTIP
- Health, drug and dental claims: Canada Life
- Prescription drug prior authorization: FACET, Cubic Health
- Specialty pharmacy services: MemberRx
- Life and AD&D coverage, claims and conversion: OTIP and Chubb
- General Trust-related questions: CUPE EWBT
Legal Note
This annual update has been prepared for eligible CUPE education workers in Ontario covered by the CUPE Education Workers’ Benefits Trust. It is not intended to be comprehensive or provide advice. If there are differences between the information in this update and the legal documents that govern the delivery of benefits, the legal documents will apply. The CUPE EWBT Trustees have sole discretion to modify plan terms, including benefit levels, eligibility conditions, premium share, limits and co-pay amounts.
