Ontario’s new Conservative government has announced changes to the province’s youth pharmacare program to make it second payer for Ontarians under age 25 who have coverage through private benefits plans. “Today, our government is announcing our intent to fix the OHIP+ program by focusing benefits on those who do not have existing prescription drug benefits,” […]
The federal government has announced the appointment of the remaining members of its advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. Besides former Ontario health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins, who’s the chair of the advisory council, the members are: Mia Homsy, director general of the Institut du Québec, who will serve as vice-chair of the […]
Advocates for national pharmacare have misdiagnosed the nature of gaps in prescription drug plan coverage in Canada and have proposed the wrong solution, according to a new study by think-tank the Canadian Health Policy Institute. Based on Canada’s 2016 population of almost 36.3 million people, the study found close to 23.2 million had coverage through a private drug plan. The […]
With a national pharmacare program potentially on the horizon, many plan sponsors will be wondering about the impact on their benefits plans. At Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit on May 29, Joe Farago, executive director of health-care innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada, discussed some of the implications of national pharmacare. Farago began his session by […]
Despite not yet announcing its election platform, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party may have the greatest potential for affecting pensions and benefits in Ontario. “The Conservatives’ broad focus on balancing the budget, which may result in their rationalizing OHIP and delisting some services, represents the real impact potential in this election,” says Anneliesje Warner, a health […]
Insurance companies expect health costs to rise by 11.8 per cent this year, according to an annual survey by Accompass Inc. The survey determines the anticipated year-over-year cost increase or decrease — or health trend factor — by asking insurers to examine their businesses and take various factors into account, including legislation, claims utilization, inflation, fee increases […]
With governments having announced a number of changes related to pharmaceutical policy, plan sponsors are facing a shifting environment for their drug plans. “There are a lot of things happening today in the world of pharmaceuticals, drug plans, benefit plans, pricing, reimbursement and access to drugs,” said Wayne Critchley, senior associate for the health and […]
With a number of government reforms and new policies in the works, plan sponsors may well wonder about the potential impact on private drug plans. With that in mind, Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist, led a panel discussion on new government policies and programs in the works at the Face to Face Drug […]
It’s not often that the issues relevant to benefits plans emerge as an area of focus in the political realm. But with votes up for grabs and politicians eager to find any way to harness them, it appears issues of drugs and dental care are moving up the political agenda. In the federal arena, the […]
In last week’s report on pharmacare, the House of Commons’ standing committee on health recommended a significant departure from the current mix of private drug coverage supplemented by public programs. While the report referenced various provincial drug programs that supplement private benefits plans or cover those without their own insurance — including those offered by Quebec, […]