Global benefits costs are projected to increase by 10.4 per cent in 2025, according to a new survey by WTW. The survey, which polled nearly 350 insurers, found in North America, costs are projected to rise to 8.7 per cent in 2025, up from 8.1 per cent in 2024. In the U.S., insurers projected a […]
Ontario’s Ministry of Health is consulting on the role of preferred pharmacy networks in the province’s employer-sponsored drug insurance sector to determine how these agreements impact plan members’ costs, choice, accessibility and access to medicine and quality of care. In its draft consultation paper, the ministry said a common concern among consumers is when PPNs are closed and […]
While preferred pharmacy networks have been around for nearly a decade, most benefits plan members aren’t aware that these arrangements have become standard, says Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist. Preferred provider networks are common arrangements that businesses across a variety of industries enter into to help deliver consistent value, quality and cost containment, said the Canadian Life […]
TD Synnex Canada is modernizing its employee benefits plan by getting the best value for money while still protecting employees from a mental-health and well-being perspective, according to Shana Kapustin, the global information technology company’s senior director of human resources, speaking during an event hosted last week by the Group Insurance and Pharmaceutical Committee. “We’ve gone […]
Unlike other Canadian provinces and jurisdictions, the Quebec government imposes rules and constraints on private drug plans that affects pharmacy costs. For example, in all provinces except Quebec, the amounts billed by pharmacies to private drug claims are controlled through the following measures: fees are displayed in pharmacies so patients can compare — however, the […]
As pharmacists’ scope of practice evolves across the country, their expanded role in drug plan management can improve plan member health and positively impact plan sponsors’ bottom lines. Challenges in the Canadian health-care system — such as the millions of people who don’t have access to a family doctor, extended emergency rooms wait times or […]
A typical patient’s journey takes plan members from the doctor to the pharmacy for medication and then leaves them on their own. But employees’ lives aren’t static, with factors like age, mental and physical health, stress and activity level having the potential to impact how effectively those medications work, said Frederic Simard, co-founder and chief […]
To say the coronavirus pandemic has had an unimaginable impact on Canadian life is an immense understatement — it has literally reshaped the way we work, interact socially and access health care. To that end, the pandemic has — and continues to — carve a path for a range of health-care innovations now supported by […]
Pharmacogenetic testing has become a popular addition to employee benefits packages, primarily because of its ability to inform personalized drug treatment, especially in mental health where it can be challenging to find an appropriate treatment and dosage that’s effective without causing side-effects. Many patients end up trying multiple medications and dosages without achieving improved outcomes, […]
Plan sponsors with growing concerns about benefits plan sustainability should focus on a few strategic pharmacy benefits plan issues, said Mark Rolnick, executive vice-president of pharmacy innovation and patient experience at Green Shield Canada, during a session at Benefits Canada’s Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum on Dec. 9, 2020. He recommended that plans […]