Employers have taken on a larger role in employees’ cancer care in the past few years, but the coronavirus pandemic changed the game even further, said Tim Clark, president of tc Health Consulting Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Chronic Disease at Work conference in late February. Cancer is now the sixth most expensive disease by […]
Benefits plans tend to cover care for common chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive lung disease. But the one they often don’t support is obesity, said Arya Sharma, scientific director at Obesity Canada and clinical co-chair of Alberta Health Services’ obesity program, during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Chronic Disease at Work conference in […]
When People Corp. started looking into reducing its claims numbers related to chronic disease, it decided to tackle what Judith Plotkin, vice-president of health and wellness solutions, called “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:” diabetes, obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure. The four conditions are comorbidities not only with each other but other afflictions […]
Public companies that invest in their people have three times’ the return on their stock price of those that don’t, making a clear case for investing in plan members’ health needs and disability prevention strategies, said Tyler Amell, adjunct faculty at Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences, during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Chronic Disease at […]
On Feb. 23-24, Benefits Canada hosted the annual Chronic Disease at Work conference, this year in a virtual format. The event explored what chronic disease looks like in 2021, including sessions on topics such as addiction, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Here’s what you missed: Assessing the mental-health offerings for plan members with moderate to severe […]
Private drug plan spending increased 5.4 per cent, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. While up to a one per cent increase in private drug plan spending was anticipated, similar to the 0.6 per cent increase between 2018 to 2019; the report showed a decrease in the percentage of members who claimed, […]
High-cost drugs remain the primary cost driver for Canadian public and private drug plans, said the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s newly released 2019 annual report. Patty Hajdu, the federal government’s minister of health, tabled the report, which found the sales of patented drugs grew 3.5 per cent to over $17 billion in 2019. Additionally, […]
Growth in chronic disease and increased drug claims are two of the key factors driving up the cost of private health benefit plans, according to a new report by Innovative Medicines Canada. It found that chronic diseases accounted for 68 per cent of drug plan claims costs and 79 per cent of growth. Claims costs […]
The mental-health impacts of isolation and quarantine are clear, but Canadians may not realize loneliness can also harm their physical health, said Diane McIntosh, psychiatrist and chief neuroscience officer at Telus Health, during Benefits Canada’s 2020 Mental Health Summit on Nov. 12. “There have been correlates that loneliness or isolation . . . is like […]
The costs of employer-provided health plans in Canada are expected to rise seven per cent next year, outpacing general inflation by more than five per cent, according to a new report by Aon Canada. Contributing factors include higher drug prices, the impact of non-communicable health risks and the continued introduction of new and expensive therapies. Indeed, […]