Although a new year typically brings an increase in health and dental claims, some insurers are seeing an abnormal spike in paramedical services. They question whether job losses and fears of cutbacks and future layoffs are driving this trend.
“There is the normal increased claim activity that we are seeing, but the one area that is standing out is extended healthcare claims…eyeglasses, chiropractic care, those kinds of things,” says Steve Moffatt, vice-president, sales and marketing, with Green Shield Canada. “What’s driving it? I’m sure it’s a combination of the fact that maximums come off at the beginning of the calendar year. And, like everyone else, I wonder if it’s part of the economic times and people trying to maximize their benefits.”
In other related media reports, Bijan Minbashian, vice-president of operations with Hakim Optical, said the chain has seen an increase in sales lately—especially in Oshawa, Ont., and Windsor, Ont.—where widespread job losses have occurred.
Camille Coutu, a benefits consultant with Buck Consultants, says this isn’t surprising. “Due to employment standards, benefits—as they were provided to active employees—are extended to severed employees, and we usually see a spike in claims under the plans. The severed employees are thinking, I might not get a job for a while; I should go to the dentist, fill up on pres- criptions, get my eyes checked, et cetera.”
While there is nothing that plan sponsors can do to prevent their employees, or former ones, from increasing the use of these services, employers should be actively communicating the state of the business and the strategies they plan to use to get through these turbulent times—especially if job security is turning into the main topic of water-cooler chatter.
“If people are concerned about the organization they are working with— because, really, they are more concerned about their jobs than their benefits programs—employers need to be more engaged and have more communication with their staff,” says Moffatt. “Communication is always good.”
April Scott-Clarke is Assistant Editor of Benefits Canada.
April.Scott-Clarke@rci.rogers.com
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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the March 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.