Home Benefits Health benefits Page 133

Latest news in Health benefits

U.S. healthcare reform poses challenges

U.S. healthcare reform poses challenges

Healthcare in the U.S. is about to cost more, this according to a survey by Buck Consultants. The Health Care Reform Readiness Survey of more…

Rising drug costs require proactive payers

Rising drug costs require proactive payers

There have been significant changes in the landscape of public sector drug plans over the past five years. Faced with rapidly escalating costs, provinces have…

Reconsidering executive group benefits

Reconsidering executive group benefits

As Canada’s post-recession economy recovers, attention is returning to the challenge of shifting demographics—specifically, the impact the impending wave of baby boom retirees will have.…

  • By: Tim Clarke
  • July 29, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 09:43
Improving health through outcomes-based contracting

Improving health through outcomes-based contracting

Outcomes-based contracting (OBC) has been developed by the Center for Health Value Innovation as a key methodology to reduce inefficiencies in healthcare delivery and to…

BMS shows communication is key to meaningful change

BMS shows communication is key to meaningful change

In 2007, the Canadian division of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) underwent a significant change, revamping its business culture and employee benefits. It was an enormous task,…

Expiring drug patents to lower costs

Expiring drug patents to lower costs

The prices of many of the world’s most popular prescription medications are set to decrease over the next year and beyond, as patent expiries open…

  • By: Neil Faba
  • July 26, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 09:55
Managing benefits costs requires communication and control

Managing benefits costs requires communication and control

Benefits plans matter to employees. Research from the 2011 sanofi-aventis Healthcare Survey shows that 59% of employees would choose to keep their benefits plan if…

Catastrophic claims could challenge drug plan sustainability

Catastrophic claims could challenge drug plan sustainability

Over the last few years, an increasing number of new medications have been introduced to treat a range of complex diseases. While many of these…

Protect your drug plans with enhanced PAs

Protect your drug plans with enhanced PAs

I followed my father’s footsteps into the pharmacy industry. When he first started practising pharmacy it was common place to smoke behind the dispensary counter,…

  • July 12, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:55
Dealing with biologics in a cost-conscious workplace

Dealing with biologics in a cost-conscious workplace

Private benefits plan managers can’t deny the impact of biologic drugs on their drug plans. According to Telus Health Solutions 2010 research, biologic drugs represent…

Manulife offers new service for employee injury claims

Manulife Financial Group Benefits has launched a suite of services to address the needs of employers dealing with incidences of workplace injury. Occupational Management Services…

  • By: Staff
  • June 29, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:04

Equitable Life adds group critical illness

Equitable Life of Canada has announced it has teamed up with insurance firm ACE Canada to offer group critical illness coverage to plan members. “Being…

  • By: Staff
  • June 28, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:20
Think tank evaluates current methods for drug coverage

Think tank evaluates current methods for drug coverage

Against a backdrop of spiralling drug costs coupled with an aging population, appropriate evaluation and coverage of drugs has taken on special urgency. Many stakeholders…

Critical steps for effective benefits communications

Who doesn’t know about the power of communications? They can diffuse or create a crisis, reinforce or revolutionize, educate, misinform, motivate, stall and persuade or…

Employees not happy: survey

It’s not just Air Canada and Canada Post workers who are unhappy with their employers, a new survey has found. Findings from Mercer’s What’s Working…

  • By: Staff
  • June 20, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 11:19
U.S. PBM usage on the rise due to increasing drug costs

U.S. PBM usage on the rise due to increasing drug costs

A U.S. study released by Buck Consultants indicates that the use of third-party pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) has increased by 10% in the past two…

  • By: Staff
  • June 17, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:17
Don’t underestimate communication efforts

Don’t underestimate communication efforts

The importance of the communication of an employee benefits plan cannot be undervalued. It creates employee awareness of the available benefits, plan restrictions and general…

Employees prefer benefits to cash

Employees prefer benefits to cash

Every Canadian wants a little more money. But what if you were offered more money in lieu of your health benefits plan? According to the…

  • By: Staff
  • June 16, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 13:52
Three keys to sustainable healthcare

Three keys to sustainable healthcare

How can we preserve and protect the Canadian healthcare system for future generations? The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care with the…

Steps to better benefits plan risk management

Steps to better benefits plan risk management

I was talking to a client recently about the potential implications of a particular biologic drug on their future benefits plan costs. The client listened…

Manulife launches new cost management tool

Manulife Financial has launched Health Management Services, a new service to help plan sponsors manage their benefits costs. The new service offers employers a “unique…

  • By: Staff
  • June 2, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:46
GWL brings drug app to market

GWL brings drug app to market

Great-West Life has introduced a new smart-phone app to help plan members better manage their prescription medications. DrugHub, which is available for the iPhone, iPad…

  • By: Staff
  • June 2, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:45
ELHTs: tax issues employers need to know about

ELHTs: tax issues employers need to know about

A new type of employee benefit trust — the employee life and health trust (ELHT) — was created recently after amendments to the Income Tax…

Video: Campbell’s talks about new health programs

What’s cooking for employees at Campbell Company of Canada? A lot, according to Fanny Karolev, Campbell’s manager of health and wellness, who we caught on…

  • By: Staff
  • June 1, 2011 September 13, 2019
  • 12:43
Non-traditional approaches that get more bang for benefits bucks

Non-traditional approaches that get more bang for benefits bucks

Many of today’s employees work in an environment where companies fight to hire the best. In its February 2010 review of hiring trends, HRinfodesk.com (a…