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 symptomology — such as difficulty concentrating, feelings of isolation and lack of motivation — is incredibly impactful in the workplace and makes it difficult for people to function at or return to work. “There’s no question that anxiety and depression are very prevalent in the Canadian workplace and are very relevant to plan sponsors,” […]
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 […]
The Canada Life Assurance Co. is eliminating plastic drug plan cards, with an aim to move to a completely digital experience for group plan members by 2021. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the insurer will begin encouraging its group benefits plan sponsors to opt out of providing plastic drug cards to members. With advancements in digital […]
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, […]
As the popularity of brand discount cards grows among Canadians, how much are people actually saving? And what’s the cost to insurers? In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers waded through 2.82 million prescriptions for 89 different medications for which patients used brand discount cards. It found patients saved seven per cent, or $3.49 […]
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 […]