Medication-related issues are negatively affecting employees’ health, causing them to take extended leaves from their jobs and leading to high benefits and disability costs for employers, according to a new white paper by HumanisRx. These issues include incompatible or duplicate drugs, higher than recommended doses, suboptimal therapy and failure to take medications as prescribed. “Our research finds […]
Flexible working hours, paid sick leave and vacation could have a positive correlation with retirement savings levels, according to a new study. The research, led by Patricia Ann Stoddard Dare, a professor at Cleveland State University, studied 994 male U.S. workers aged 47 to 55. It found employees who are offered these time-related benefits have dramatically higher retirement […]
Hub International Ltd. is expanding its Canadian employee benefits and retirement services with six key service areas. It also named its employee benefits leadership team for the country, including Robert Taylor of TRG Group Benefits, which was acquired by Hub in January; Hub chief innovation officer Faizal Mitha; Mary-Lou MacDonald, Hub’s national practice lead of health and […]
On Oct. 24, the 2019 Calgary Drug Trends Summit featured presentations to educate plan sponsors and advisors about specific disease states and their challenges, new drug treatment categories and key drug trends facing benefits plans. Here’s what you missed! New drug therapies for common conditions could impact private plan sustainability While medical advancements and drug […]
While medical advancements and drug therapy innovations have been life-changing for patients and plan members, they also come with increasing costs, said Victoria Shaw, drug benefits manager at Alberta Blue Cross, speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Calgary Drug Trends Summit on Oct. 24. Between 2011 to 2017, the number of high-cost drugs doubled. From 2016 to 2017, in […]
Only eight per cent of Canadian women who are eligible for a vaccine that covers nine strains of the human papillomavirus are actually receiving it. While one barrier is a lack of knowledge among health-care professionals and patients alike, another is the lack of coverage in group benefits plans, said Dr. Angel Chu, an infectious diseases physician at Foothills Medical Centre, […]
Alongside Fluor Canada’s recent move to a flexible benefits plan, it also introduced a managed drug formulary, which includes generic substitution, prior authorization, lifetime maximums and an annual out-of-pocket maximum. While the organization was hesitant to make the change, it knew it was necessary to help control drug costs, said Michelle Ginter, senior human resources […]
For its increased focus on complete reviews of its disability policy and overall absence management program, Scotiabank took home the absence management award at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Oct. 17. Three and a half years ago, Scotiabank went through a complete audit of its disability program, part of its overall best practice review for these […]
Benefits Canada recognized winners across seven categories at the 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards on Thursday. At a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Arcadian Loft in Toronto, more than 100 leaders in the benefits, pension and investment industries gathered to see awards presented to Canadian employers that are proactively and passionately making a difference in their employees’ financial, […]
When Fidelity Canada’s employees are facing challenges around their work-life balance, the company offers support through a number of absence management programs. The financial services company provides five weeks of vacation, one paid personal day and two paid volunteer days, as well as a sabbatical program that’s available to employees who’ve been with the company […]