Cancer treatments represented 33 per cent of medicines in all phases of clinical trials in 2023, followed by treatments for infectious diseases (13 per cent) and central nervous system diseases (12 per cent), according to a new report by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. It found more than 12,000 new medicines were undergoing clinical […]
The Canada Dental Care Plan will help make dental services more accessible for unionized employees who don’t currently have a dental program within their contract, says Sandeep Kakan, director of pension governance at Unifor. Kakan, who until recently was the union’s director of pension and benefits, says the new program has established a standard from which […]
U.S. employers’ health benefits costs are expected to increase to nearly eight per cent for 2025, the highest amount in more than a decade, according to a new survey by Business Group on Health. The survey, which polled 125 large employers, found they’re planning to continue to absorb much of the increases at least for […]
People going through the loss of a loved one often worry they’re not grieving in the right way if their experience differs from their and others’ expectations of what grief looks like, said Deborah McLeod, clinical director at Carepath Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2024 Mental Health Summit in June. Grief is a highly individualized process […]
A decline in the number of long-term disability claims over the past three years may be the result of some employees prioritizing their financial health over physical and mental wellness, said William Lindsay, senior disability management advisor for Desjardins Insurance’s disability management and prevention team, during Benefits Canada’s 2024 Mental Health Summit in June. The […]
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of U.K. employees say their employee benefits didn’t meet their needs during their cancer journey, according to a new survey by Reframe Cancer. The survey, which polled 500 U.K. working adults who have personal experience of working with cancer, found among those unsatisfied with their benefits, more than half were male […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has released a critical illness insurance guide to help Canadians better understand the benefits of critical illness insurance and how it works. Critical illness insurance is less well known than other types of insurance, so the guide helps to fill in the blanks for Canadians who may have […]
Amid a wave of frank and open discussions about women’s health, more plan sponsors are beginning to review their benefits and human resources policies with an eye to providing better support. It’s something that a group of health-care experts, speaking during a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Chronic Disease at Work conference in February, […]
It’s important for private payers and employers to be nimble and innovative to support plan members seeking access to novel drugs and treatments by addressing common hurdles within their own drug plans, said John Adams, chair of the board of directors for patient advocacy group Best Medicines Coalition, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2023 Face […]
Obesity has long been misunderstood and stigmatized as a lifestyle condition instead of a complex disease, said Rami Halabi, a medical science liaison with Novo Nordisk, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada and sponsored by Novo Nordisk in November. The condition isn’t just a measure of size, but a progressive, relapsing chronic disease characterized […]