ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada is renewing three collective agreements with its employees, including improvements to the defined benefit pension plan, disability benefits and life insurance. The new six-year agreements were ratified by 800 unionized employees. For the DB plan, the agreements include a total $9 increase in the monthly pension credit, so at the end […]
As this wave of the coronavirus pandemic abates and more organizations settle into their respective futures of work, leadership teams are considering how the many factors around the management of work and people will need to evolve. While some organizations don’t want — or can’t — change where people work, those that can have numerous […]
The majority (69 per cent) of employed generation Z and millennial Canadians are struggling with anxiety, while 59 per cent are dealing with depression, according to a new survey by Ipsos for RBC Insurance. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 employed Canadians aged 18 and over, found those aged 18 to 34 were significantly […]
While there’s a 2.5 per cent lifetime chance of having alopecia areata, the progression can be unpredictable and cause a lot of stress for patients, according to Dr. Lyn Guenther, professor of dermatology at Western University, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada and supported by Pfizer earlier this month. Alopecia areata is more than […]
On Dec. 15, the industry’s most popular drug benefits conference returned in a virtual format, highlighting the trends and opportunities for Canadian benefits plan sponsors to consider. Here’s what you missed: Using proactive drug plan design to ensure future sustainability Ensuring plan sponsors get value for money from their drug plans Patient support program insights […]
In 2020, Canada Life Assurance Co. saw a decrease in the number of benefits plan members making a drug claim, though the costs of those claims were higher, according to Barb Martinez, the insurer’s national practice leader in drug solutions, speaking during a session at Benefits Canada‘s Face to Face in Drug Plan Management Forum […]
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 […]
As the phenomenon of coronavirus long-haulers — individuals who display symptoms for months following infection — becomes more prominent amid the ongoing pandemic, plan sponsors are taking a flexible and individualized approach through their human resources practices and benefits offerings to support impacted plan members. Mike Mousseau, national well-being and engagement consultant at Arthur J. […]
Recognized as the leading and most well-known event in workplace mental health for more than 15 years, Benefits Canada‘s 2021 Mental Health Summit, which was held virtually on Nov. 23-24, highlighted areas including links to disease impacts, treatment options, disability management and much more. Here’s what you missed: The importance of self-management in employee mental health How […]
Approximately two in five Canadians live with a mental-health disorder and about eight million are struggling with non-prescriptive addiction. Medically managed intensive outpatient programming, or MMIOP, provides rapid access to treatment, resolution of symptoms and rapid return to work, said Dr. Rob Tanguay, vice-president and chief medical officer at the Newly Institute, during a session […]