Editorial: Benefits, bullying and the minimum wage
The issue of benefits changes at some Tim Hortons outlets in response to Ontario’s boost to the minimum wage to $14 per hour is a…
- By: Glenn Kauth
- March 16, 2018 March 17, 2021
- 09:00
Latest news in Health benefits
Drug Plan Trends Report: A snapshot of what’s coming down the pike
The hepatitis C hump is over. Since 2014, Health Canada has approved several promising medications for the disease. While the direct-acting antivirals offer cure rates…
- By: Sara Tatelman
- March 16, 2018 March 17, 2021
- 08:56
TTC fraud update: More than 220 employees fired or have resigned, retired
Some 223 Toronto Transit Commission employees have been dismissed or have resigned or retired to avoid dismissal as part of an ongoing investigation into benefits fraud,…
- By: Staff
- March 15, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 10:01
B.C. expands hep C coverage, adds new drug to formulary
British Columbia is expanding treatment coverage for chronic hepatitis C to everyone in the province and has added a new drug to the province’s PharmaCare formulary. “In…
- By: Staff
- March 13, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:00
Sun Life adds virtual health-care services to group, individual plans
Sun Life Financial Canada is adding virtual health-care services to its group and individual insurance plans. Its virtual care referral networking will initially include three third-party providers: Toronto-based…
- By: Staff
- March 8, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 15:00
Cigna acquires Express Scripts for $67 billion
Global health service provider Cigna Corp. is acquiring Express Scripts Holding Co. in a deal valued at $67 billion. The stock and cash transaction includes…
- By: Staff
- March 8, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 09:00
Green Shield Canada rolls out biosimilar transition program
Green Shield Canada is rolling out a new biosimilar transition program as a pilot project through the first half of 2018, with an aim to extending it to…
- By: Staff
- March 7, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 15:45
Half of U.S. employees unsatisfied with benefits offering: survey
More than three-quarters (78 per cent) of American employers believe their employees are satisfied with the current benefits offering, but just 52 per cent of employees…
- By: Staff
- March 6, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:00
Have your say: Is the new five-week parental sharing benefit a good idea?
The new five-week parental sharing benefit announced in the 2018 federal budget is causing some concern among employers. Commenting on Benefits Canada’s website, Asha Mohammed, director of human…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- March 5, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 17:00
Learn how technology fits into the benefits equation at the Benefits and Pension Summit
As the workplace undergoes rapid transformation amid automation and technological advancements, plan sponsors will need to re-imagine the crossroads between new technology and employee benefits. The…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- March 2, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 08:45
Budget includes end to health and welfare trusts by 2021
The federal budget has proposed the end of health and welfare trusts, suggesting either a conversion to employee life and health trusts or a windup by the…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- February 28, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:30
B.C. employers to consider benefits plan design in light of new health tax
B.C. plan sponsors will have lots of questions to consider as the provincial government prepares to introduce a new employer health tax. “It’s going to…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- February 28, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 15:30
The employer’s role in being ‘a very strong motivator’ in cancer patients’ return to work
From brain fog to fatigue, cancer patients face a range of challenges when it comes to staying at or going back to work. And with a…
- By: Glenn Kauth
- February 28, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 14:31
Budget confirms new advisory council on implementation of national pharmacare
The 2018 budget has confirmed the federal government is creating an advisory council on the implementation of a national pharmacare program. Marc-André Gagnon, associate professor at Carleton…
- By: Jennifer Paterson
- February 27, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 18:30
Saskatchewan reinstates tax exemption on health premiums
Saskatchewan’s announcement that it’s reinstating its provincial sales tax exemption for life and health insurance premiums is welcome news for plan sponsors in the province. …
- By: Ryan Murphy
- February 27, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 15:45
Rising drug costs a source of pain? There’s a tiered formulary for that
Anyone who’s ever suffered from chronic pain will tell you it’s a great motivator. When you’re in pain, you’ll go to great lengths and will try just…
- February 21, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 14:01
B.C. to introduce employer health tax, remove health premiums
British Columbia is introducing a new employer health tax as it moves to fully eliminate medical services plan premiums. During the province’s 2018 budget announcement on Tuesday, Finance…
- By: Staff
- February 20, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:49
Hub International acquires B.C.-based pension, benefits firm
Hub International Ltd. has acquired a British Columbia-based pension and benefits consulting firm. On Friday, Chicago-based Hub International announced it had acquired the shares of…
- By: Staff
- February 20, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 09:49
Sun Life adding medical marijuana coverage to group benefits plans
Sun Life Financial Canada is adding optional medical marijuana coverage to its group benefits plans from March 1, 2018. Coverage of the drug will be added as an extended health-care…
- By: Staff
- February 15, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:56
Patient advocacy organizations urge government to halt drug-pricing review
A group of 28 patient advocacy organizations are urging Health Canada to stop its review of drug pricing. The federal government announced changes to drug price regulation…
- By: Staff
- February 15, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:50
Great-West Life funds Toronto program fostering innovations in health, financial tech
The Great-West Life Assurance Co. is contributing $300,000 to a Toronto-based program that aims to help technology startups working to improve economic productivity and human well-being. The…
- By: Staff
- February 15, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 16:07
Are benefits plan members being exposed to counterfeit pharmaceuticals?
Counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs are a rising risk to Canadians as they’re appearing in brick-and-mortar pharmacies, rather than just on the street or online, according to a new report…
- By: Staff
- February 14, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 09:00
Telemedicine provider Dialogue closes $12M funding round
Virtual health and telemedicine provider Dialogue has closed on a Series A funding round for $12 million. Dialogue has distribution agreements with Great-West Life Assurance…
- By: Staff
- February 13, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 10:01
Almost a million Canadians cut food, heat spending to pay for drugs
Almost one million Canadians cut spending on necessities such as food and heating to afford prescription drugs in 2016, according to a report by researchers at…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- February 13, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 09:00
B.C. to reduce prescription drug deductibles for low-income earners
British Columbia’s plan to eliminate or reduce prescription drug deductibles for low-income earners could also lead to lower drug costs for plan sponsors in the…
- By: Ryan Murphy
- February 12, 2018 September 13, 2019
- 10:15