October 2024 AUNP Update

Hello fellow AUNP NPs! 

We hope that you’re enjoying the fall season so far and hope you had a great Thanksgiving. 

Here’s what your board has been up to over the past month.

NP Barriers with 3rd party insurance and NIHB: 

If a NP is employed under AHS, Covenant Health and Recovery AB, they are automatically part of the agreement for 3rd party insurance coverage. 

On January 1st 2023, Alberta Blue Cross began giving plan sponsors the option to allow Nurse Practitioner Written Orders (NWO’s) as an entitlement condition to their plan design.  As this option was only introduced recently, coverage for services prescribed by a nurse practitioner can vary from plan to plan. For those plan sponsors that have chosen to include the NWO requirement, all services which can be prescribed by a physician can also be prescribed by a registered nurse practitioner. 

Similarly, some of the Alberta Blue Cross’ employer benefit plans do include coverage for mental health treatment under the extended health benefit.  Plan sponsors are responsible for determining all eligibility criteria, including which nurse practitioner services are eligible under their plan. For employer benefit plans that do not cover these services under the extended health benefit, coverage is available via Health Spending Accounts for plans that have a Health Spending Account as part of their benefit coverage. For plans that provide coverage, claims are accepted for services provided by nurse practitioners who are in good standing and have full professional membership with a provincial college or association recognized by Alberta Blue Cross.    

If a NP is in private practice, the NP would need to register with NIHB and would need to bill per diagnosis based on a specific list. 

 

UNA strike: 

If UNA, or any other healthcare union, went on strike, AHS would expect NPs to cross the picket line and work as normal. The other unions would most likely ask that we support them on their picket lines on our days off.  

Additional picket line protocols would be established in an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) signed by both the employer and AUNP; also, a requirement of the Alberta Labour Relations Code. 

 

Bargaining 2024: 

Preparations are underway for bargaining and dates are tentatively scheduled to begin on November 5th. 

The Bridging Clause contained within the CA provides for the terms and conditions to continue and remain in effect beyond the date of expiry, until a new CA has been bargained and ratified. 

AUNP priority list for this cycle of bargaining will be: 

  1. Compensation 
  2. Overtime 
  3. Hours/scheduling 
  4. Maintenance of HBTA Benefit package 

 

AUNP Payroll Codes: 

Members have been asking questions on how they should be coded for specific occasions. The following are the main codes used by payroll for AUNP timesheets: 

ASC 

Salary Continuance (sick time) 

A01 

Regular pay; Medical appt less than 2hrs 

ASC 

Medical appt more than 2hrs 

A1P 

Personal Leave 

A06 

Named Holiday 

A10 

Vacation 

A91 

Union Business, billable  

A9B 

Union Business paid by AHS 

A60 

Evening Shift Differential  

A61 

Night Shift Differential 

A84 

Weekend Differential 

A7A 

Preceptor Pay 

A5C 

Paid Professional Development Day 

Members can also refer to the following list of codes for further information: 

tms-hr-time-reporting-codes.pdf 

tms-hr-specialty-coding.pdf 

tms-hr-overtime-coding.pdf 

 

Annual General Meeting: 

The Board has decided that the next AGM will be November 27th starting at 1900. Virtual invite to follow. 

It was decided that the fiscal year end would be better placed at the end of the fall season which would be financially advantageous for AUNP. 

Elections for Annual General Meeting: 

As part of the AGM, there will be elections to the AUNP Board. All NPs who are regular dues-paying members will receive information regarding nomination and election processes. While we have members who have agreed to be nominated for each of the Board positions, further nominations for the following Board positions will be available: 

  • Vice-President 
  • Secretary 
  • Calgary Zone 
  • South Zone Rep 

If you or a colleague is interested in any of the above positions, please reach out to AUNP. 

Lesley Lapierre, AUNP VP will also be sending out a separate email with specifics on the nomination process.  

As always, please reach out to AUNP if you have any questions or concerns at https://www.aunp.ca/contact  

It is our pleasure to support NPs and advance the profession across Alberta. 

 

Your AUNP Board 

AUNP
https://www.aunp.ca/