While three-quarters (76 per cent) of U.S. employers say they provide coverage of glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs for diabetes management, about a quarter (27 per cent) provide coverage of these drugs for weight loss, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, which polled more than 200 U.S. benefits […]
Many plan members are experiencing risk factors related to poor mental, physical and financial well-being, but often don’t know they can turn to their benefits plans for help. Indeed, when Canada Life’s disability claims report asked plan members going on disability whether they sought out counselling through their benefits plans, more than half said they […]
As the proportion of Canadians living with one or more chronic disease continues to rise, plan sponsors have the opportunity to provide specific solutions to some of the most common conditions in their employee population, said Karen Callaghan, senior director of chronic disease education and patient support at Novo Nordisk, during Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Healthy […]
The federal government is appointing members to an implementation advisory group to support the launch of its national strategy for drugs for rare diseases. The members from Canada’s private payer community include: Stephen Frank, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association; Joanne Jung, Canadian pharmacy and clinical practice leader at […]
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of U.S. employers say they’re focused on managing health-care plan costs, following a projected cost increase of 6.4 per cent in 2024, according to a new survey by WTW. The survey, which polled more than 450 U.S. employers, found 63 per cent said they’re focused on enhancing mental-health and […]
“We’re now in a very exciting time where we have treatments with previously unseen capacity to improve the control of type 2 diabetes and help our patients manage weight,” said Dr. Sue Pedersen, a specialist in endocrinology and metabolism from Calgary, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada and sponsored by Eli Lilly Canada in […]
The Parliamentary Budget Office is confirming the insurance industry’s projection that a single-payer model of national pharmacare program will cost $40 billion annually as a result of shifting more than $14 billion in private insurance coverage onto the government’s books. In a new report, the PBO estimated the cost of a single-payer universal drug plan to […]
Canada’s life and health insurers paid out a record $114 billion in health and retirement benefits last year, up $11 billion since before the coronavirus pandemic and up 60 per cent from a decade ago, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s annual fact book. “During a year when many households faced higher […]
Three-fifths (60 per cent) of benefits plan sponsors say the costs of their health benefits plan increased in the past three years, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found this percentage decreased from 66 per cent when the question was last asked in 2016 and was unchanged from 2015 (60 per cent). […]
Half (51 per cent) of plan members say the coverage levels of at least one of their health benefits limit their ability to seek necessary treatment, jumping to 84 per cent among those with a major injury in the past 12 months, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found this percentage increased […]