Chronic disease rates are rising and cases are becoming more complex, with a higher share of plan members experiencing multiple co-morbidities.
This growing trend necessitates an approach to chronic disease management that promotes self-management and healthy lifestyle choices, as well as helps plan members better navigate the health-care landscape, said Jeffery Chan, assistant vice-president of chronic disease management and ePharmacy at Sun Life, during Benefits Canada’s 2025 Chronic Disease at Work conference.
Almost half (45 per cent) of Canadians now live with a chronic disease, according to Sun Life data, which also indicates that, not only is the prevalence of chronic diseases rising at a population level, it’s rising among plan members under age 40, a cohort not historically associated with long-term illnesses. Chan attributed this trend to behaviours such as unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles and high stress. He also said medication claims related to common chronic diseases are rising faster among young women than young men.
Read: Claims for chronic disease drugs increasing fastest among younger plan members: report
Sun Life also found plan members claiming medications for just one chronic condition are now in the minority. Looking at members claiming for diabetes medications, he noted those who were also claiming for cardiovascular drugs, mental-health drugs or both outnumbered plan members exclusively claiming for diabetes-related medications.
Chan underscored the established link between physical and mental-health illnesses. People with depression experience three-times as many chronic physical conditions as the general population, he said, and those with chronic conditions have twice the rate of mood or anxiety disorders as the average population. Employees with both chronic physical and mental illnesses are much more likely to take disability leave.
Sun Life has invested in a number of solutions to help plan members manage their illnesses, he said, noting the insurer’s Lumino Health Centre platform aims to help employees navigate a fragmented health-care landscape through a searchable database of respected health providers, special offers and discounts and education materials.
Read: Supporting employees with chronic, complex conditions helps manage benefits costs
Its ePharmacy, a partnership with Pillway, allows plan members to upload their prescriptions, place orders, set auto-renewals and get free medication delivery and pre-sorted packages to encourage medication adherence. It also provides plan members with one-on-one chronic condition coaching from pharmacists, covering lifestyle, diet and nutrition, health literacy and medication management.
Sun Life is also able to nudge plan members with personalized messaging based on their claims data to help point them toward the care they need.
Chan stressed the importance of prevention efforts to stem the rise of chronic diseases. “These things are impactable through lifestyle changes and through environmental changes.”
Read more coverage of the 2025 Chronic Disease at Work conference.