From pharmacare to analytics, plan sponsors heard about the big issues on the horizon for their benefits plans at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit. Presenters at the May 29 event took the audience through a range of topics, including the implications of marijuana legalization and new developments in health-care delivery. And two years after the […]
There’s an almost even split among plan sponsors on whether to cover medical marijuana in their health benefits plans, according to the 2018 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Those for and against coverage were split evenly, with 34 per cent each, while the remaining 32 per cent said they didn’t know or were unsure. Among plan sponsors that […]
While chronic disease is a persistent problem in the workplace, employers are missing key data illustrating how employees’ conditions are affecting their work, according to the 2018 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. However, the data around chronic disease is complex, noted one of the survey’s advisory board members. During the launch event for the survey in Toronto on Wednesday, […]
The majority (85 per cent) of Canadian plan members used their drug plan at least once in the past year, according to the 2018 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Among plan members who submitted drug claims, the average number per year was 9.4. That figure rose to 14.5 claims for both employees in poor health and those […]
Cubic Health Inc. has introduced a risk management program aimed at helping plan sponsors with the many considerations for covering medical marijuana in their benefits plans. The program uses claims data from the past two or three years to provide evidence-based education that’s tailored to a plan sponsor’s industry and workforce. It also includes a tailored risk assessment for each benefits plan that […]
Insurance companies expect health costs to rise by 11.8 per cent this year, according to an annual survey by Accompass Inc. The survey determines the anticipated year-over-year cost increase or decrease — or health trend factor — by asking insurers to examine their businesses and take various factors into account, including legislation, claims utilization, inflation, fee increases […]
With governments having announced a number of changes related to pharmaceutical policy, plan sponsors are facing a shifting environment for their drug plans. “There are a lot of things happening today in the world of pharmaceuticals, drug plans, benefit plans, pricing, reimbursement and access to drugs,” said Wayne Critchley, senior associate for the health and […]
With a number of government reforms and new policies in the works, plan sponsors may well wonder about the potential impact on private drug plans. With that in mind, Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist, led a panel discussion on new government policies and programs in the works at the Face to Face Drug […]
The Reformulary Group Inc. has formed a cannabis formulary committee that will review evidence for medical marijuana and provide expert opinions and criteria for its use, including lines of therapy, specific strains, grams per indication, mode of consumption and quantity limits. The committee is also aiming to create a registry to capture patient-reported data, which […]
A prescription drug cap is among the issues in a strike by United Steelworkers union members in western Labrador. The union members work for the Iron Ore Co. of Canada, a joint venture involving Rio Tinto, which holds 58.7 per cent, Mitsubishi Corp. and the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Corp. According to the CBC, the […]