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 […]
From drug pooling to medical marijuana, plan sponsors have a number of issues to keep track of when it comes to their benefits plans. At the Face to Face Drug Plan Management forum in Vancouver this month, a panel of experts tackled some of the hot topics the industry is thinking about. Pooling: One concern […]
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 […]
Canadian cannabis producer MedReleaf Corp. has introduced a product identification number for 57 of its medical marijuana products in an effort to facilitate coverage in employer-sponsored benefits plans. Product identification numbers are similar to traditional drug identification numbers, according to a press release. They’re designed to make it easier for employers and other private payers […]
Medical marijuana producer Tilray Canada Ltd. is entering into a letter of intent to become the preferred supplier for Pharmasave. Subject to federal regulations legalizing marijuana, Tilray will supply and distribute its product through the retailer’s pharmacists. As a member-governed co-operative, Pharmasave’s reach includes 650 independently owned pharmacies in Canada. “Tilray’s products are available in 10 countries around the […]
With the impending legalization of marijuana in Canada, what do plan sponsors need to consider? How will the workplace be affected by both recreational and medical marijuana? What are the legal implications? Should benefits plans cover medical marijuana? All these topics and more will be on the table during a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2018 […]
Sun Life Financial Canada is adding optional medical marijuana coverage to its group benefits plans from March 1, 2018. Coverage of the drug will be added as an extended health-care benefit at the request of plan sponsors. It will include a yearly maximum, ranging between $1,500 and $6,000, a prior approval process and coverage criteria. The insurance company said it […]
It’s an exciting time for group benefits in Canada. That’s not a phrase you hear every day, but it’s one that’s coming up more and more often. Terms like “digital health” and “disruption” are new words to the Canadian benefits vernacular. All of a sudden, it seems like a new digital health startup launches every […]
The average medical marijuana patient likely uses less of the drug than prescribers think, according to an industry participant whose company has experience with coverage under its benefits plan. Speaking at an event held by Aon Hewitt in Toronto on Wednesday, Jonathan Tafler, senior director of product and operations for employer health solutions at Shoppers […]
When it comes to issues such as medical marijuana, it’s important to draft tightly worded benefits plans, according to a Toronto lawyer. Ross Gascho, a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, was one of the speakers at the firm’s pension, benefits and litigation seminar in Toronto on Thursday. Gascho looked at two case studies involving coverage of medical […]