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…
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…
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…
Two U.S. surveys reveal that health savings accounts (HSAs) are helping both employers and consumers manage healthcare costs.
(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…
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…
Employees want benefits. That’s not a surprising statement, but what might be surprising is that the degree of importance employees place on benefits programs has…
The bulk of Canadian employers believe that offering benefits increases employees’ productivity and gives them a hiring advantage—but many employers aren’t implementing the necessary programs…
Originally from our sister publication, CanadianHealthcareNetwork.ca. The number of new prescription medications covered by provincial and territorial insurance plans dropped substantially after a national review…
After two years of increasing inflation in health benefits plan costs, Canadian employers can now expect a break, according to a survey released by Buck…
Trend factors and, more specifically, health trend factors, use an organization’s experience with historical claims to forecast future healthcare benefits costs. Insurers apply these trends…
Watch this video The introduction of biologics to benefits plans is a double-edged sword: while biologics can significantly increase health outcomes for employees, they can…
With many details of U.S. healthcare reform still unknown, organizations are struggling to develop a long-term healthcare strategy, says a recent survey by Towers Watson.…
Canadian benefits plan sponsors are becoming more involved in assessing their drug plan designs. This has been a positive step forward in terms of helping…
With healthcare costs rising, employees are expected to be more accountable for maintaining their own health and monitoring their expenses, says Aon Hewitt. According to…
Some insurance companies now provide online claiming for non-drug benefits (electronic adjudication of drug claims has been around for years). But how has this increase…
Time and tools are the key factors in an effective benefits education program, according to research from Unum, a benefits services provider for the U.S.…
While healthcare costs are projected to increase at a lower rate in 2012 compared with 2011, the average cost per employee is expected to surpass…
You’ve undoubtedly read about the youngest group in your workplace: the 17- to 28-year-olds, known as generation Y. While Statistics Canada data from 2010 show…
If you want to reduce benefits costs and get the best ROI from your employee wellness program, implement participation incentives and automation. That’s the finding…
Watch this video For benefits plan sponsors worried about the increasing costs of their plans, the legislation regarding generic drug price reductions (currently implemented in…
Early responses from a Mercer survey suggest the average growth in U.S. health benefits costs will slow to 5.4% in 2012, the smallest increase since…
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) will save U.S. consumers and payers almost $2 trillion in prescription drug costs—a 35% savings—over the next decade, according to new…
Watch this video Too often, benefits plan administration and costs take up a plan sponsor’s focus—leaving communication efforts to suffer, says Sarah Beech, region director,…
There has been tremendous focus in recent years on advancements in insurer technology in areas such as employee self-service, online reporting, e-claims and Web-based administration…