The Canada Life Assurance Co. is cutting its health insurance premiums for its employer-sponsored benefits plans to support small- and medium-sized businesses facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “We recognize that many businesses are challenged right now and we are wholeheartedly committed to supporting them however we can,” said Jeff Macoun, president and […]
Over the last decade, the group benefits space has been all about digitizing documents and data, embracing a mobile-first mindset and urging plan sponsors and members to ditch paper and go online for a more customized experience. The next decade will build on all of that, pushing group benefits plans into the era of hyper-personalization, […]
Mental-health issues continue to be a driver of employee absence and disability year after year, so it’s important for employers to understand and cover a wider range of mental-health professionals on their benefits plans. Back in 2016, Scotiabank’s mental-health coverage was limited to psychologists. However, as different designations gained acceptance in the Canadian health-care space, […]
Telus Communications Inc.’s director of pension and benefits talks about plan member choice, honouring diversity and local walks. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. Providing personalized, meaningful benefits to our team members, while at the same time ensuring the sustainability of the program through prudent cost management — it can be a […]
Private drug plans saw a slight uptick in costs in 2019 due to the increased use of specialty drugs and higher price points for traditional medications, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report found private drug plan spending per claimant increased one per cent over 2018’s figures. Plans’ annual spend per claimant on […]
Several weeks into the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. has seen a 415 per cent increase in the percentage of employees working remotely or part time, according to a new survey by WorldatWork. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 total rewards and human resources professionals in the U.S., also found 37 per cent of organizations are providing […]
With the coronavirus pandemic affecting many businesses, employers are considering their options for shifting their benefits plan spend. Usage rates for benefits such as dental and paramedical services, which generally have high uptake among plan members, are currently in decline, since non-essential business are shuttered for the foreseeable future and Canadians are staying at home. “Specifically in […]
With a few days under their belts to digest the federal government’s proposed wage subsidy benefits, some Canadian employers are starting to rehire workers who were put on furlough or laid off entirely. In a press release on Monday, Air Canada said it’s rehiring about 16,500 employees who will receive the 75 per cent wage subsidy, which aims to […]
The mental-health repercussions of the coronavirus could see global sales of psychiatric drugs increase to more than US$40 billion by 2025, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. Global sales for drugs to treat mental-health disorders such as depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder are expected to reach US$27.4 billion in 2020, an increase of US$717 […]
The coronavirus pandemic has hit us all hard, and pensions and benefits are no exception. The pandemic has implications for out-of-country emergency travel insurance, disability benefits and even day-to-day health-care claims, since plan members aren’t able to access many of their usual practitioners and may be looking for virtual alternatives. From a pension standpoint, the recent […]