While dedicated coverage for women’s midlife health needs improve employee well-being and productivity, it also addresses the costs of unmanaged menopause symptoms that are showing up in other parts of the benefits plan.
A women’s health partnership between Medavie Blue Cross and sanoLiving has already resulted in notable improvements for participants’ work, mood and quality of life, according to Tara Anstey (pictured right), the insurer’s director of business development and client value, speaking during a session at Benefits Canada‘s inaugural Women’s Health & Wealth Summit.
The program, sanoMidLife, is a centralized platform where women can receive an initial assessment and personalized care plan from a clinician. It also connects them to all the relevant health services covered by their benefits plan, including mental-health practitioners, wellness programs and coaching, as well as helping them navigate public health services.
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The cost of unmanaged menopause symptoms is likely showing up in benefits plan data, said Antsey, noting Medavie has seen huge upticks in certain chronic disease category claims for women in the age cohort when the perimenopause transition typically occurs, including cardiac claims, mental-health medications and disability leaves. As well, she noted some anti-anxiety drugs can be prescribed off-label to manage hot flashes, which may account for some of the mental-health spend.
There was “a strong indication . . . that there’s actually quite a bit of spend in benefits plans for really poor care and there’s an opportunity to put that spend to better use and better outcomes,” she said.
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Employers are “paying in other ways,” added Angela Johnson (pictured left), chief executive officer and co-founder of sanoLiving, including seeing their experienced women employees exit the workforce, move to part-time work or have ongoing casual absences.
In initial assessments, she said, 94 per cent of sanoMidLife users reported their symptoms had moderate to severe impacts on their quality of life, followed by their mood (83 per cent) and their work (63 per cent). When reassessed after following a treatment plan for two months, the majority reported their symptoms had little to no impact on their quality of life (62 per cent), mood (73 per cent) and their work (88 per cent).
Read more coverage of the 2026 Women’s Health & Wealth Summit.