The average cost of employer-sponsored health benefits in Canada is expected to decline to five per cent in 2024, down from 7.5 per cent in 2023, according to a report by Aon. The report, which is based on insights from more than 100 global Aon offices that broker, administer or advise on employer-sponsored medical plans, found […]
More than 5,600 Ford of Canada workers have voted in favour of ratifying a three-year collective agreement that includes improvements to the defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans. The agreement “fundamentally transforms pension plans,” said Lana Payne, Unifor national president, in a press release. Under the agreement, the DB plan’s basic monthly benefit rate […]
More than half (54 per cent) of Canadian benefits plan members currently live with at least one diagnosed chronic health condition, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found the top current diagnoses were a mental-health condition such as depression or anxiety (18 per cent), high cholesterol (12 per cent), arthritis (12 per […]
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. […]
Canadian plan sponsors and insurers are revisiting how they classify obesity drugs under their benefits plans, amid plan members’ rising demand for Ozempic as a weight-loss treatment. Ozempic, also known under the generic name semaglutide, is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. However, the medication has also been credited as a weight-loss treatment, […]
Three main drug categories — diabetes, asthma and stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — accounted for rising drug claims in 2022, according to Lavina Viegas, Telus Health’s director of client account management, speaking during Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Benefits & Pension Summit in June. Referring to Telus Health’s 2023 drug plan trends report, she said […]
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 annual spend per private drug plan member increased by 6.3 per cent in 2022, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. Across both traditional and specialty drugs, the increase was primarily driven by a 5.4 per cent rise in plan members making a claim, which reversed the trend seen in 2020 and […]
An article on how British Columbia’s incoming pay transparency legislation could impact employers was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. How B.C.’s pay transparency legislation could impact employers 2. Report finds new diabetes, migraine treatments could impact private drug plans in 2023 3. CPPIB […]
A new diabetes treatment is expected to have the largest impact on private drug plans in 2023, according to a new report by Telus Health. The report, which analyzed more than 100 drug submissions currently under review by Health Canada, found Mounjaro, a new diabetes drug expected to become available in the first half of […]