In the midst of the enduring conversation about the changing nature of work and the workplace, some often underappreciated — and potentially underused — benefits have taken centre stage during the coronavirus pandemic. This month, Benefits Canada is exploring two black sheep of the benefits plan: employer-provided travel coverage and vision benefits. In English idiom, […]
In March 2020, Bill Gosling Outsourcing’s benefits plan was facing unsustainable costs, as well as a deficit due to incoming premium increases. The coronavirus pandemic, which was declared at the same time, presented an opportunity for the organization to make significant changes. “During the pandemic, people were housebound, so they weren’t going to the dentist […]
Employees in most sectors are experiencing an exponential increase in the amount of time they spend in front of screens during work hours, so updates to vision benefits are long overdue. “Current vision coverage isn’t sufficient and it would be great to see some changes,” says Dr. Harry Bohnsack, an optometrist based in Fredericton, N.B. […]
An article on the strike by Ontario education workers was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. CUPE’s Ontario education workers striking for extended benefits, wage increases 2. Stellantis, Unifor agreement includes pension and retirement gains 3. Sounding Board: How employers can better support employees […]
Amid the increasing introduction of specialized medicines in Canada, key stakeholders in the private payer health-care sector are enhancing their collaborations to maintain the value of private drug coverage, said Joe Farago, executive director of private payers and investment at Innovative Medicines Canada, during a webinar by the Group Insurance Pharmaceutical Committee this week. “[The […]
Imagine that a few pills a day could transform an employee’s life — that they could get back to work, perform better, have fewer sick days, be more present and avoid continuously deteriorating health. Now, what if this life-changing medicine is for a rare disease that isn’t covered under the employee’s benefits plan because of […]
The first issue of Benefits Canada hit the desks of the country’s human resources, benefits, pension and investment professionals in 1977, four years before I was born. That same year, Canada’s inflation rate was eight per cent, very close to July 2022’s annualized inflation rate of 7.6 per cent. A lot has changed in 45 […]
The provision of employer-sponsored benefits has evolved significantly over the last 45 years, with the past decade ushering in the most consequential changes, fueled by technology, increased competition and demand. In the 80s and 90s, benefits plans were very siloed and one size fits all, says Chris Pryce, founder and president of Human Capital Benefits, […]
More than three-quarters (78 per cent) of plan sponsors say they’re concerned about the coronavirus pandemic’s long-term impact on the cost of health benefits plans, up from 71 per cent in 2021, according to the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. Among these respondents, 31 per cent strongly agreed with this statement, up from 23 per cent […]
A majority of plan sponsors (80 per cent) and plan members (77 per cent) described the quality of their health benefits plans as excellent or good, according to the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. Employers with 500 or more employees (86 per cent) were more likely than those with fewer than 50 employees (72 per […]