Latest news in Health benefits

The drop in insurer trend factors: Part 2

The drop in insurer trend factors: Part 2

pointed out a cascade effect: one insurer published its health trend factor, and, subsequently, several other insurers published the same trend number.

Sun Life announces new drug plan

Sun Life announces new drug plan

Sun Life Financial has signed a strategic alliance with Reformulary Group Incorporated to develop a new drug plan for employers.

  • By: Staff
  • December 15, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 11:52
Banyan, Sun Life launch absence management program

Banyan, Sun Life launch absence management program

Banyan Work Health Solutions Inc. has announced a new program to help manage workplace absence. The program, part of Sun Life Financial’s absence and disability…

  • By: Staff
  • December 14, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 10:03
Quebec expands pharmacists’ responsibilities

Quebec expands pharmacists’ responsibilities

Quebec’s Bill 41, which increases pharmacists’ professional responsibilities, was adopted on Dec. 8. The bill permits pharmacists, under regulation by the Quebec Order of Pharmacists,…

  • By: Staff
  • December 14, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 08:52
Equitable Life expands claims app

Equitable Life expands claims app

Equitable Life’s EZClaim application—a health and dental claims app for BlackBerry devices—has been expanded for use on the iPhone and iPad2.

  • By: Staff
  • December 13, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 11:41
Top talent hard to find these days

Top talent hard to find these days

Canadian small business owners are having a difficult time finding good employees. According to American Express’s Small Business Monitor survey, 11% of small business owners…

  • By: Staff
  • December 12, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:32
A lesson in winning benefits plan design

A lesson in winning benefits plan design

The Halifax Professional Firefighters Benefits Trust has been actively managing its plan since going to an administrative services-only program and moving its drug plan to…

Take control of drug plan costs

Take control of drug plan costs

While many organizations view their drug benefit spend simply as a necessary cost of doing business—and approach plan management from a cost-containment perspective—some are recognizing…

Express Scripts launches online prescription manager

Express Scripts launches online prescription manager

Express Scripts Canada has launched an online prescription manager website and member contact centre to help facilitate medication delivery to plan members.

  • By: Staff
  • December 9, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 14:08
Therapeutic substitution: Will it yield benefits for drug plan sponsors?

Therapeutic substitution: Will it yield benefits for drug plan sponsors?

In July 2011, Medavie Blue Cross implemented a therapeutic substitution pilot program with a small group of pharmacies in Atlantic Canada. According to George Somers,…

Flex benefits easy for employer and employee

Flex benefits easy for employer and employee

Flexible benefits programs have been a part of the Canadian benefits scene for a quarter-century. In that time, advances in administration and communications technology have…

The rough road of biologics

The rough road of biologics

Many biologic drugs have a high price tag but they also provide employees a much healthier life and, in some cases, an easier return to…

Sun Life announces mobile app platform

Sun Life announces mobile app platform

Sun Life Financial has announced that Kony Solutions will be the platform for Sun Life’s new mobile application, My Sun Life. The app allows group…

  • By: Staff
  • November 29, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 10:50
Empire Life enhances Vital Assist Health Benefit

Empire Life enhances Vital Assist Health Benefit

The Empire Life Insurance Company has enhanced its Vital Assist Health Benefit, a critical illness product that provides financial assistance to employees diagnosed with a…

  • By: Staff
  • November 29, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 10:33
Equitable Life launches BlackBerry app for benefits claims

Equitable Life launches BlackBerry app for benefits claims

Equitable Life of Canada has launched a free mobile app for submitting health and dental claims.

  • By: Staff
  • November 28, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:54
Manulife extends access to online health resource

Manulife extends access to online health resource

Manulife Financial’s web-based Health Service Navigator feature is now available free-of-charge to those who hold health insurance and critical illness insurance through Manulife’s Affinity Markets.…

  • By: Staff
  • November 28, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:14
Doctors, pharma and cost management

Doctors, pharma and cost management

Besides the compelling love story between its two attractive stars, the movie Love and Other Drugs presents a rather enlightening glimpse into the relationship between…

  • November 23, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:16
6 ways to improve your benefits communication

6 ways to improve your benefits communication

Communicating your benefits plan to employees in a way they understand and will act upon can be challenging. And if employees feel their employers don’t…

  • By: Staff
  • November 23, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:01
One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for health plans

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for health plans

Employees want wellness programs that are easy to use, personalized and motivating and meaningful to them, according to a U.S.-based study by Aon Hewitt, The…

  • By: Staff
  • November 21, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:52
Total rewards statements help to engage employees

Total rewards statements help to engage employees

Providing total rewards statements to your employees can not only help to improve their awareness of the value of their benefits plans—it can also help…

  • By: Staff
  • November 17, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 11:56
Are we in 2002 or 2012? A word of caution about mail-order pharmacies

Are we in 2002 or 2012? A word of caution about mail-order pharmacies

From a distance, it may look as though the drug plan benefits space has matured greatly over the past 10 years. However, as you get…

  • November 16, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 15:03
Express Scripts introduces new business model

Express Scripts introduces new business model

Benefits management services provider Express Scripts Canada has announced the introduction of a new business model, which, it says, will enable companies to better control…

  • By: Tammy Burns
  • November 15, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:46
HSAs benefit U.S. employers and employees

HSAs benefit U.S. employers and employees

Two U.S. surveys reveal that health savings accounts (HSAs) are helping both employers and consumers manage healthcare costs.

  • By: Neil Faba
  • November 11, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 08:54
More U.S. companies using carrots and sticks to promote employee health

More U.S. companies using carrots and sticks to promote employee health

(Note: The survey findings reported here are based on the responses of 248 companies based in the U.S. Findings based on the responses of Canadian…

  • By: Staff
  • November 1, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:05
More employees using auto-enrollment

More employees using auto-enrollment

The number of U.S. employees using auto-enrollment features for their benefits plans has more than doubled since 2005, reports the Guardian Life Insurance Company of…

  • By: Staff
  • November 1, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 10:29