While ChatGPT is helping benefits communications become more efficient, detailed and reliable, the risks may outweigh the rewards when it comes to full automation, says Tom Milne, a principal at Normandin Beaudry. The possibilities for generative artificial intelligence in the benefits space are infinite, he says, noting the algorithms are helping expedite the research and […]
In 2022, Xero sent out a global survey to all of its employees asking them to rank the most important components of its total rewards program, from time off to flexible working policies, salaries to employee benefits. The software company’s Canadian employees ranked health benefits as one of the most important aspects of total rewards. […]
Specialty drugs are accounting for a slightly smaller portion of the total eligible amount for all drug claims, declining from 33.6 per cent in 2021 to 33.1 per cent in 2022, according to Telus Health’s annual drug trends report. The report, based on claims data from more than 4.6 million plan members in 2022, found the […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association will now be working with participating insurers to collaborate on joint investigations into suspected benefits fraud schemes. This initiative builds on last year’s launch of a CLHIA-supported program that uses advanced artificial intelligence to identify fraudulent activity across a vast industry pool of claims data. “We’ve been working […]
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, employers will likely start to see more chronic diseases in their employee population and should consider proactive strategies for supporting workers’ overall health, said Peter Nord, chief medical officer at Medcan, during Benefits Canada’s 2023 Chronic Disease at Work conference in early February. “Employees are looking around for […]
When Bell Canada launched its Bell Let’s Talk initiative in 2010, the telecommunications company announced a plan to spend $155 million on fighting stigma, improving access to care and funding research for mental health — but it also knew it had to lead by example. One of the pillars of its plan was improving the […]
When workplace dental plans are designed to promote employees’ proactive oral health, it can reduce overall benefits plan expenditures, including the cost of medications. Forty per cent of adults are at high risk of poor oral health, including adults with special needs, people with type 2 diabetes, the elderly or frail and those with mental-health […]
Yale University and some of its employees have settled a class-action lawsuit over the university’s employee wellness program for US$1.29 million net of lawyers’ fees. The Healthy Expectations Program required its 5,000 unionized staff and their spouses to pay US$25 for every week they declined to participate in the program, for a total penalty of […]
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of plan sponsors described the quality of their health benefits plan as excellent (22 per cent) or good (52 per cent), down from 80 per cent in January 2020, according to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found employers with more than 500 employees were more likely to describe their plan […]