Suzanne Lepage

2024 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum: The connection between drug benefit utilization and women’s health

Canada’s workforce increasingly reflects the unique health challenges faced by its female population. Between 2018 and 2023, women represented a little more than half of the total claimants and spend in Express Scripts Canada’s drug claims data, according to Farah Belayadi, the organization’s senior manager of clinical services and health technology database, during Benefits Canada’s […]

  • January 23, 2025 January 15, 2025
  • 07:56

2024 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum: Panel: A look at the evolution of drug coverage

Advances in medical science and innovations in drug development necessitate updated drug plan strategies, according to Frédéric Leblanc (pictured far right), strategic leader of drug programs, group benefits and retirement solutions at iA Financial Group. During a panel discussion supported by EMD Serono Inc., GSK, iA Financial Group, Merck & Co. Inc., Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. […]

  • January 23, 2025 January 15, 2025
  • 07:54

Tackling type 2 diabetes more than just managing glucose levels

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by the body’s resistance to the effect of insulin and, over time, the gradual loss of the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin, according to Dr. Donna Mojdami, a clinical research physician in diabetes at Eli Lilly Canada, speaking during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Chronic […]

  • March 7, 2022 March 3, 2022
  • 07:56

Update benefits plans, workplace policies to treat obesity like any chronic disease

Some 8.4 million adult Canadians adults live with obesity and severe obesity has increased 455 per cent since 1985, according to Dr. Mary Forhan (pictured left), scientific director-elect of Obesity Canada, during a session supported by Desjardins Insurance at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Chronic Disease at Work event in February. Although many believe that people can […]

  • March 7, 2022 March 8, 2022
  • 07:48

Using proactive drug plan design to ensure future sustainability

In 2020, Canada Life Assurance Co. saw a decrease in the number of benefits plan members making a drug claim, though the costs of those claims were higher, according to Barb Martinez, the insurer’s national practice leader in drug solutions, speaking during a session at Benefits Canada‘s Face to Face in Drug Plan Management Forum […]

  • January 24, 2022 January 24, 2022
  • 07:59

How the evolution of pharmacy can impact benefits plan costs

The coronavirus pandemic is demonstrating that pharmacists are a key health-care provider, with one study finding nearly 75 per cent of pharmacists have had patients who sought care at the pharmacy because they were afraid of going to any other health-care setting. A panel during Benefits Canada‘s Face to Face in Drug Plan Management Forum in […]

  • January 24, 2022 January 24, 2022
  • 07:55

2021 Mental Health Summit: Mental health and obesity — the hidden face of the pandemic

It isn’t surprising that the Canadian Mental Health Association reported 41 per cent of adults saw a decline in their mental health due to the coronavirus pandemic — it’s been the perfect storm of stressors, particularly for people living with obesity, said Stéphanie Ipavec-Levasseur, product director of health insurance at Desjardins Insurance, during Benefits Canada‘s 2021 […]

  • December 9, 2021 December 9, 2021
  • 15:49

2021 Mental Health Summit: Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy a key mental-health strategy

Mental health is the leading cause of disability for Canadian employers of all types, sectors and sizes, with 70 per cent of employers saying expanding access to mental-health care is a top priority. Speaking during a Tech Insights spotlight session at Benefits Canada‘s 2021 Mental Health Summit, Anna Chif, co-founder and chief strategy and product officer […]

  • December 9, 2021 December 8, 2021
  • 15:48

2021 Mental Health Summit: Migraine and mental health — a workplace perfect storm

With about one in eight individuals struggling with migraine, there’s a significant overlap between migraine and mental health, according to Dr. Rob Tanguay, psychiatrist and president of the Pain Society of Alberta, during Benefits Canada‘s 2021 Mental Health Summit. People living with migraine have a two- to four-times increased risk of having a depressive disorder compared […]

  • December 9, 2021 December 8, 2021
  • 15:45

Drug pricing reforms may impact Canadians’ access to medications

Despite concerns Canadian drug prices are skyrocketing, the Patented Medicines Price Review Board, Canada’s price regulator, has ensured costs for patented drugs haven’t increased more than the Canadian Consumer Price Index in close to 30 years, said Wayne Critchley, Global Public Affairs’ senior associate of health and life sciences, during Benefits Canada’s Face to Face […]

  • January 15, 2021 April 14, 2021
  • 08:57