Steve Moffatt, senior vice-president of sales and marketing with Green Shield Canada, questioned plan sponsors’ ongoing tendency to have their drug plans provide full coverage in today’s financially constrained landscape.
While the past decade has been marked by a number of events that have had an impact on both the economy and the travel industry, Canadians continue to travel.
The state of healthcare in Canada is in flux. As the economy forces companies to do more, bill less and accept more risk, the need to control costs has never been greater.
A proposal for longer market monopolies by brand names could put a dent in generics savings, according to an analysis of Canadian retail prescription drug sales by the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA).
With public payers across the country acknowledging the value of pharmacy by expanding scopes of practice and funding more services, there are opportunities for drug plan sponsors to capitalize on pharmacists’ expertise to better manage spending and improve health outcomes.
pointed out a cascade effect: one insurer published its health trend factor, and, subsequently, several other insurers published the same trend number.
Sun Life Financial has signed a strategic alliance with Reformulary Group Incorporated to develop a new drug plan for employers.
The Halifax Professional Firefighters Benefits Trust has been actively managing its plan since going to an administrative services-only program and moving its drug plan to a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) five years ago.
While many organizations view their drug benefit spend simply as a necessary cost of doing business—and approach plan management from a cost-containment perspective—some are recognizing that their drug plan is an investment in the overall health and well-being of their employees.
In July 2011, Medavie Blue Cross implemented a therapeutic substitution pilot program with a small group of pharmacies in Atlantic Canada. According to George Somers, director of professional and provider affairs at Medavie Blue Cross, the pilot was facilitated by new legislation and a subsequent interest by pharmacists and Medavie Blue Cross to explore new partnerships.