The average cost increases for employer-sponsored health-care plans are set to increase at a faster rate than inflation in 2018, according to a new report by Aon. Global average cost increases are projected to be 8.4 per cent in 2018, nearly three times the projected rate of inflation of 3.1 percent. Results vary depending on region, with […]
Digital human resources company Rise People Inc. is launching a national partnership program that allows it to offer its integrated human resources, insurance, group benefits and pension product through consultants and advisory firms across Canada. The company noted it aims to combine its technology expertise with advice from consultants, such as Granville West Group in Vancouver; Davis Benefits […]
Great-West Life Assurance Co. has partnered with digital health-care provider Dialogue to offer its virtual health-care platform as part of its group benefits plans. The platform, which can be accessed through a mobile app or website, is open to employers in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. The insurer says the impetus for the pilot was the need […]
On occasion, I’ve been critical of the group insurance business. I’ve used the term lethargic to describe the pace of change and have been critical of what I thought was a far too rigorous embrace of the status quo. There has been some innovation over the years, but it has paled in comparison to the […]
It may be fun for an architect to moonlight as a freelance photographer, but few people want a job title that’s full of slashes, whether as a social media manager/babysitter/barista or a substitute teacher/tutor/Uber driver. Many workers don’t have a choice, however. “In Canada, one of the things we see is employers moving away from […]
Thirty-one employees at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto have been fired in relation to “irregularities in some employee health benefit claims,” spokesperson Leslie Shepherd confirmed in an email to Benefits Canada. The irregularities were discovered during a routine audit, and approximately $200,000 worth of claims were found to be in breach of the hospital’s code of […]
An officer from the York Regional Police Service was fired yesterday for benefits fraud, two years after pleading guilty and being suspended with pay. In the original hearing on Dec. 10, 2015, York Regional Police superintendent Graeme Turl ruled that first class constable Salwa Husseini would have seven days to resign from her position or face […]
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has ruled a benefits plan must cover a member’s medical marijuana prescription. “Employee benefit plans are not required to cover the sun, moon, and the stars,” Benjamin Perryman, chair of the board of inquiry, wrote in his ruling. But if a member with a disability requests coverage similar to what other […]
When Campbell Co. of Canada opened its annual flexible benefits enrolment window in December 2016, it made a number of changes to streamline the process, including moving it completely online, changing the way it deducts wellness contributions and scrapping the graduated matching for the company’s group registered retirement savings plan. The company’s plan covers a […]
Whenever we mention the phrase “medical marijuana in the workplace,” we’re met with eye-rolls and smirks. After all, a poll we conducted in September 2016 found only 21 per cent of business leaders in small and medium-sized companies believe medical marijuana should be covered under a group benefits plan. But employers also have to consider […]