Advocacy on the federal government’s pharmacare program will continue to be a core focus for the Benefits Alliance in 2025, says Carolyne Eagan, the association’s president.
As each province is determining how or whether they’ll accept the government-sponsored program, she says the association plans to continue its grassroots campaign to engage with Canadian plan sponsors and members to educate them on key details of the program that could affect them and their current coverage.
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Eagan says the Benefits Alliance will continue meeting with policymakers to ensure the program’s impact on plan sponsors and private payers is understood, regardless of which political party is in power. Although a change could be coming, she doesn’t foresee the pharmacare program falling by the wayside. “No matter what the concept, . . . there’s a need to help Canadians figure out how to negotiate a program that works for all. If there’s a shift in government, we don’t think it’s going to be necessarily shelved or pushed aside. We think there will be an opportunity for different governments to do different things.”
The Benefits Alliance is also helping to establish a new not-for-profit organization focused on advocacy surrounding issues affecting group benefits and savings plan members, which it hopes to launch by the end of the first quarter.
The organization would be open to plan sponsors, consultants and companies that operate in an advisory capacity and anything that touches plan members, says Eagan, noting the Smart Health Benefits Coalition has had a key role in highlighting issues with the current pharmacare program and she’s hoping the new organization will help to bring more perspectives to the table.
Additionally, the Benefits Alliance plans to stay focused on its work surrounding the expansion of virtual health care, as well as adding its voice to discussions surrounding prior authorization, preferred provider networks, access to specialty insurers, the medical expense tax credit and financial literacy.
Read: Sounding Board: What plan sponsors should know about pharmacare