As the landscape of Canadian drug plan management continues to evolve, several programs are being implemented by insurers and pharmacy benefits managers to help plan sponsors manage costs. Speaking on a panel at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum on Dec. 3 in Toronto, Ned Pojskic, leader of pharmacy and health provider […]
Quebec employers can expect to face significant increases to their drug pooling premiums in 2020. The Quebec Drug Insurance Pooling Corp., which sets the annual pooling parameters for private drug plans in the province, has increased the cost that plan sponsors with Quebec employees must pay per plan member. Plan sponsors pay different rates for members with and […]
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 […]
Looking ahead to 2020, the big story for health benefits is often avoided because it isn’t easy to address. It’s the elephant in the room. Over the past year, there’s been no shortage of momentum in new and emerging product offerings in the health benefits space — everything from digital cognitive behavioural therapy to virtual […]
iA Financial Group is launching a pilot project to help benefits plan members with medication adherence. The Quebec City-based insurer will offer access to mobile app MedHelper to a few thousand plan members who are taking three or more medications on a daily basis. The plan members can import the list of drugs they take into the […]
Express Scripts Canada is launching a medication non-adherence, early-detection program in 2020 to identify plan members who are most likely to cease taking their prescription medications. The program will use proprietary predictive modelling to analyze prescription drug claims and determine who is at risk for potential non-adherence in the future, according to a press release. “Encouraging adherence […]
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board has published draft guidelines, including new factors for setting patented drug prices and an updated list of reference countries for Canada to compare its prices. The guidelines were updated to address the federal government’s final amendments to the PMPRB rules, which were released in August. The board is seeking comment from stakeholders until Jan. 20, […]
Medication-related issues are negatively affecting employees’ health, causing them to take extended leaves from their jobs and leading to high benefits and disability costs for employers, according to a new white paper by HumanisRx. These issues include incompatible or duplicate drugs, higher than recommended doses, suboptimal therapy and failure to take medications as prescribed. “Our research finds […]
Ontario has proposed amendments to provincial drug regulations that aim to change the pricing model for generic drugs and simplify the process for the province’s drug formulary to list biosimilars. Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said the changes are aimed at reducing the “administrative burden” for drug manufacturers and pharmacies. With regards to […]
On Oct. 24, the 2019 Calgary Drug Trends Summit featured presentations to educate plan sponsors and advisors about specific disease states and their challenges, new drug treatment categories and key drug trends facing benefits plans. Here’s what you missed! New drug therapies for common conditions could impact private plan sustainability While medical advancements and drug […]