Plan sponsors face challenges balancing benefits plan sustainability while also ensuring their plan members have access to the care they need, said Marie-Hélène Dugal, manager of pharmacy benefit strategy at Medavie Blue Cross, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2022 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum in Toronto in December. Referring to Medavie’s claims data, […]
With the cost of drug claims continuing to rise in 2021, benefits plan sponsors can enable certain drug programs to curb costs, keeping their plans sustainable and offering the benefits that members highly value, said Lavina Viegas, director of pharmacy operations at Telus Health, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2022 Face to Face Drug […]
About a million Canadians are impacted by rare diseases, which disproportionately affect younger patients — 70 per cent start in childhood and, sadly, half of these children won’t reach adulthood, said Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist, during a session supported by Alexion Pharmaceuticals at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum […]
An article on the potential impacts of a pension super-priority bill was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Pension super-priority bill passes in House of Commons 2. Ontario municipality establishing six-week indoor mask requirement for city employees 3. CIBC supporting employee health with wellness […]
The increasing use of high-cost medicines is the primary cost driver for all Canadian drug plans, according to a new report by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. It found drug costs for public plans rose by 5.3 per cent in 2019/20, with high-cost medicines accounting for 6.3 per cent of the increase. Among private […]
Amid the increasing introduction of specialized medicines in Canada, key stakeholders in the private payer health-care sector are enhancing their collaborations to maintain the value of private drug coverage, said Joe Farago, executive director of private payers and investment at Innovative Medicines Canada, during a webinar by the Group Insurance Pharmaceutical Committee this week. “[The […]
Imagine that a few pills a day could transform an employee’s life — that they could get back to work, perform better, have fewer sick days, be more present and avoid continuously deteriorating health. Now, what if this life-changing medicine is for a rare disease that isn’t covered under the employee’s benefits plan because of […]
Total drug costs grew to $2 billion in 2021, rising steadily from $1.4 billion in 2017, according to Green Shield Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report, which is based on claims reported by Green Shield Canada, found the number of claimants also increased from 1.9 million to 2.1 million over the same period. While […]
Canadian life and health insurers processed nearly $600 million in claims related to mental health in 2021, up 45 per cent since 2020 and 75 per cent since 2019, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s annual fact book. “2021 was a year of recovery and insurers have been proud partners helping employers […]
Average benefits costs for U.S. employers will increase 6.5 per cent — or more than $13,800 per employee — in 2023, according to a new report by Aon. This projection is more than double the three per cent increase to health-care budgets from 2021 to 2022, but below the 9.1 inflation figure reported through the consumer price […]