Canadian insurers expect health costs to rise by 11.55 per cent this year, according to a new report by Accompass Inc. The annual 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 and reforms, economic events […]
Since recreational cannabis was legalized across Canada six months ago, related workplace problems have mainly been notable by their absence. “It’s been a surprising lack of significant issues arising in the workplace,” said Angelo Tsebelis, president at Starseed Medicinal Inc., during a panel at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto on Wednesday. This […]
Brand-name drug companies could put off introducing new medicine in Canada and scale back research here if the country makes a major shift to cheaper generic alternatives under a national pharmacare plan, according to an internal federal analysis. The concerns were included last year in a briefing document for federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau that […]
Express Scripts Canada is appointing Michael Roszak as chief operating officer. Roszak will oversee operations, customer services, marketing, sales and clinical services. Since 2008, he was vice-president of business development for the public sector at Telus Health. “Mike is the right person to lead ESC’s operations into the future,” said Dr. Dorian Lo, president for Express Scripts Canada, in a […]
As a job title, ‘drug case manager’ can imply different things across the health-care and benefits industries. In Canada, a drug case manager may be part of a drug manufacturer’s patient support program or an insurance company’s preferred pharmacy network, while hospitals have case managers at various levels, says Suzanne Nagy, drug consulting leader for […]
As the federal government continues its consultations on a national pharmacare system, many questions are still up in the air. Will the new system follow a single-payer model? And if so, what would be the implications for a private-payer system? As discussions examine the various possibilities, the private industry says pharmacare reform is a complex issue that requires more […]
While insurers are consistently providing innovative plan design options for employers, that doesn’t detract from the reality that it’s a difficult time for employers, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s Karen Voin. “At the heart of it, they want to ensure they’re not impacting their employees, and are really conscious of what the impact […]
Treating mental health with medications is very different from treating an infection, so why do many people, and many employers, treat them like they’re one and the same? When enhancing communications around wellness programs, plan sponsors should seek innovative ways to support employees with how they use medications and help them understand the interactions between drugs and mental […]
Shoppers Drug Mart’s e-commerce platform for medical cannabis launched Tuesday, a month after Health Canada licensed the company to sell the product online. Product information is available nationally, but Shoppers Drug Mart can initially only sell medical cannabis to patients in Ontario. Patients will be required to take a medical document similar to a prescription […]
Express Scripts Canada is appointing Dr. Dorian Lo as president following Michael Biskey’s retirement from the position in the first quarter of 2019. Lo is a Canadian physician with international experience in health care, pharmacy and pharmacy benefits management. He’s currently managing director of group strategy and health care at Rajawali Corp., an investment holding company in […]