For Chantelle Tadman, returning to work after maternity leave was more eventful than she’d hoped it would be. Between needing to take disability leave during her pregnancy and the maternity leave itself, she was off for 21 months. During that time, her company was acquired, her manager left and her team and job responsibilities completely […]
The City of Mississauga’s acting senior manager of total rewards talks virtual health care, pension communications and spending time with family. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. I think we can say there are two worlds: pre-coronavirus and post-coronavirus. In the current situation, the top challenge is making sure our […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is recommending the federal government develop a strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases, potentially by harmonizing catastrophic drug coverage across the country. In its August federal budget submission to the standing committee on finance, the association noted specialty drugs, including those for chronic and rare disease, made up just two […]
Starbucks Canada is partnering with Morneau Shepell Ltd. to make LifeWorks available to all 24,000 Canadian employees and their family members. The digital wellness platform and app offers access to critical support services including uncapped, short-term 24/7 counselling sessions and financial advice. It also includes rewards and recognition, proactive advice and learning modules and assessment tools. […]
EQ Care is forming a partnership with RWAM Insurance Administrators Inc. with the aim of facilitating access to virtual health-care services. RWAM, a Canadian third-party administrator of group insurance benefits, offers services including medical consulting sessions, triage and medication prescribing. Read: EQ Care, myHSA enter agreement expanding access to telemedicine Virtual health-care services could be […]
British Columbia’s new health tax will cost the average worker nearly $3,000 a year in foregone wages, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute. The health tax, which began gradually phasing out B.C.’s medical services plan premiums in January 2019, applies to employers with annual payrolls of $500,000 or more. In a […]
In its submission to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s draft guidelines, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is suggesting that the board consider disbursing excess revenues from pharmaceutical companies to employers rather than just to the provincial and territorial public payers. Currently, any excess revenues — determined by voluntary compliance undertaking or orders […]
Digital benefits company myHSA and virtual health-care organization EQ Care are entering into an agreement to expand access to telemedicine. Through the agreement, EQ Care will be added to myHSA’s Benefits Bucket suite, so plan members can access on-demand health-care support by experienced medical professionals who have received in-depth training on the coronavirus. Read: Sun […]
Consulting firm BenefitsConnect Inc. is purchasing Kingston, Ont.-based Strategic Benefits & Insurance Services Ltd. Through the acquisition, BenefitsConnect is seeking to enhance its service offerings to Kingston and the surrounding area. Read: Gallagher expands presence in Atlantic Canada with SBW Employee Benefits acquisition In a press release, Paul Crossdale, president of BenefitsConnect, praised the Strategic Benefits’ […]
iA Financial Group is appointing Éric Jobin as executive vice-president of group benefits and retirement solutions. Jobin had been in the role, on an interim basis, since March 2020. He joined the insurer in 1999 in corporate actuarial services. Since then, he’s taken on many roles including vice-president of corporate actuarial services in 2015, vice-president […]