Two-thirds (65 per cent) of plans sponsors said they have a specific objective for their health benefits plan for the upcoming year, compared to 56 per cent that said the same in 2018, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Overall, 21 per cent said they strongly agree they have a specific objective, increasing to […]
The long-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 s pandemic is anybody’s best guess, as are its long-term health impacts. Emerging evidence shows that, even after recovering from infection, longer-term symptoms such as exhaustion headaches and muscle aches in some patients can last for weeks. In more severe cases, resulting in hospitalization, longer-term consequences can include lung scarring, […]
In seeking to better serve its plan members, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has been on a journey to change its strategic thinking to access a more meaningful picture of who its members are and what challenges they have in using the plan as it stands. That journey starts by asking what a member is […]
Over the last decade, the group benefits space has been all about digitizing documents and data, embracing a mobile-first mindset and urging plan sponsors and members to ditch paper and go online for a more customized experience. The next decade will build on all of that, pushing group benefits plans into the era of hyper-personalization, […]
Green Shield Canada is launching a benefits plan analytics tool to help plan sponsors take a closer look at their offerings. The tool, DATAleap, looks to provide insight on claims trends, key cost drivers and disease state data. It also provides benchmarking tools for plans and demographics analyses. Read: Harnessing analytics, data to support employee mental health “Users can […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is buying a stake in U.K.-based investment analytics provider ClearMacro Ltd. The company provides analytics tools designed for asset managers and other professional investors. “BCI has, in recent years, firmly established our in-house investing capabilities across asset classes,” said Mihail Garchev, vice-president of total fund management at the BCI, in a press […]
Mental health isn’t fight club — it can be talked about, said Sean Raible, principal consultant at Game Plan Total Rewards, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. “As a total rewards person, we don’t talk about compensation because it’s under lock and key. But mental health is a community where […]
Pharmaceutical companies and private payers can interact in different ways to ensure the right drugs are getting to the right patients, according to Kathy Sotirakos, senior manager of market access and private insurance at Amgen. Real world evidence will help inform better decision-making from a predictability and outcomes perspective, she said during a panel at […]
Mental health is the third largest health spend in terms of benefits plan management, according to Derek Weir, manager of health benefit solutions at Medavie Blue Cross. “Fifty-three per cent of Canadians consider anxiety and depression ‘epidemic’ in Canada and 85 per cent say mental-health services are among the most underfunded in health care,” he said […]
Both absenteeism and presenteeism affect employers’ bottom lines and employee morale, but does one have more impact on the workplace? Julie Holden, principal at Holden & Associates Ltd. In many ways, employee absence is a major disruption to the workplace and it has become much more complex over the years. On one hand, there’s the […]