While many Canadian drug benefits plans have adopted generic substitution policies, plans sponsors continue to face significant cost pressures. “Keeping these plans affordable and sustainable…
With disability claims rising, many plan sponsors are questioning whether they’ll be able to offer their employees a complete group benefits plan in the coming…
With high costs for dental services, Alberta is facing calls to rein in the fees. It was in 1997 that the Alberta Dental Association published…
ABB Canada saw 93 per cent of its 3,200 eligible employees actively enroll in a new benefits plan following the acquisition of manufacturer Thomas & Betts…
The increased mainstream acceptance of marijuana and its medicinal qualities has sparked a discussion around whether it should be paid for as a treatment in…
DJ Galvanizing has launched a monthly wellness program for its employees that focuses on musculoskeletal health. “We had a time where we were seeing a lot…
RBC Insurance has launched a preferred pharmacy network for specialty drugs, which it expects will cut claims costs by three to four percent. Figures from IMS Brogan…
CSA Group has doubled employee participation in its defined contribution pension plan – from 40 per cent to 85 per cent – following a number of changes…
Established in 2010, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance includes all 13 provinces and territories and, since January 2016, the federal government. While the alliance has touted…
Despite the billions of dollars spent on health care in Canada by both public and private payers, there’s a significant gap in the coverage available…
Just 12 per cent of U.S. employers offer transgender-inclusive benefits, finds a survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, which polled 577 human resources…
The federal auditor general is urging Veterans Affairs Canada to step up efforts to secure lower drug prices and look for ways to control spending on…
The cost of employee health-care benefits around the globe is increasing, driven by the higher cost of hospital and inpatient services, medical technology and the overuse…
Kickbacks for health benefits billed to multinational industrial company Atlas Copco Canada Inc. are at the centre of a criminal trial underway in Sudbury, Ont., that’s…
It seems even the judiciary isn’t immune to efforts to rein in benefits plans, including post-retirement coverage. In a recent decision of Ontario’s Divisional Court,…
As multinational companies expand into new markets, services such as employee assistance programs are taking off on a global level as well. “At a macro level, there is a…
When it came to her workplace experience while undergoing cancer treatment, Lisa Redmond lived in what she admits was a “fairy-tale world.” Not only does…
Compliance is one of the hallmarks of the insurance industry, but with amendments to federal privacy laws last year, group benefits providers are facing a…
At the 2016 Employers Cancer Care Summit in Toronto in February, Benefits Canada presented the results of exclusive research into the workplace experience of employees…
The Empire Life Insurance Company has introduced a service for those with pay-direct insurance plans to help employers better manage the cost of their drug benefits.…
Do you deserve to be recognized as one of Canada’s leading employers? Time is running short to submit a nomination for Benefits Canada‘s annual Workplace Benefits Awards.…
I had an excellent chat with an employer client recently about why the concept of employee consumerism hasn’t really caught on in Canada. Is it a…
With Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne vowing to implement major reforms to political fundraising in Ontario, what has the pension and benefits industry been up to…
The Toronto Transit Commission has hosted its first diabetes screening campaign, making the onsite screening available to its 12,000 employees in December. Dr. Alain Sotto,…
Global catalogue and internet retailer The Bradford Group/Hammacher Schlemmer added a number of new options to its voluntary benefits program during its latest enrolment in a…