With cost of private drug plan claims rising about 5.5 per cent each year, pooling is one solution that could be beneficial for benefits plan sponsors. “Theoretically, if these claims could be shared across a broader group, such as the complete private insurance industry, plan costs could be less volatile for individual plan sponsors,” said […]
Plan sponsors face challenges balancing benefits plan sustainability while also ensuring their plan members have access to the care they need, said Marie-Hélène Dugal, manager of pharmacy benefit strategy at Medavie Blue Cross, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2022 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum in Toronto in December. Referring to Medavie’s claims data, […]
With the cost of drug claims continuing to rise in 2021, benefits plan sponsors can enable certain drug programs to curb costs, keeping their plans sustainable and offering the benefits that members highly value, said Lavina Viegas, director of pharmacy operations at Telus Health, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2022 Face to Face Drug […]
About a million Canadians are impacted by rare diseases, which disproportionately affect younger patients — 70 per cent start in childhood and, sadly, half of these children won’t reach adulthood, said Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist, during a session supported by Alexion Pharmaceuticals at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum […]
While vaccine coverage varies across provincial drug plans, several million Canadians who are members of private drug plans don’t have coverage at all, according to Chris Bonnett (pictured left), founder and principal consultant of H3 Consulting, during a panel session supported by GSK, Merck & Co. Inc. and Pfizer Canada Inc. at Benefits Canada’s 2022 […]
Average benefits costs for U.S. employers will increase 6.5 per cent — or more than $13,800 per employee — in 2023, according to a new report by Aon. This projection is more than double the three per cent increase to health-care budgets from 2021 to 2022, but below the 9.1 inflation figure reported through the consumer price […]
U.S. employers are anticipating health benefits costs will rise by an average of 5.6 per cent per employee in 2023, according to early results from a survey by Mercer. The survey, which polled more than 850 U.S. employers, found if respondents made no changes to their benefits plans, the cost for the largest plans would rise […]
The drug pipeline is full of new medications that may be more effective but may also be more expensive than existing treatments. Although they could significantly improve a benefits plan member’s health, they could also render a plan unaffordable. “Because drugs represent a significant portion of group insurance plan costs, plan sponsors are concerned about […]
Employer-provided medical benefits costs in Canada will rise seven per cent in 2022, according to a new survey by Aon. The annual global medical trend rates survey found the expected increase for Canadian employer-sponsored medical plan costs is due to a combination of higher costs for dental care, paramedical expenses and prescription drugs. It was conducted […]
The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan returned 6.78 per cent in 2020, increasing net assets to $5.519 billion, but falling short of the policy benchmark of 7.96 per cent. The plan did outperform the actuarial assumed rate of return of 5.70 per cent. “Like many pension plans across the country impacted by COVID-19, we saw […]