Latest news in Health benefits

New drug price deal ends Quebec drug tendering plans

New drug price deal ends Quebec drug tendering plans

Quebec has reached an agreement with the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association to lower drug costs by $1.5 billion over five years, thereby putting an end…

  • By: Jann Lee
  • July 17, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 11:32
OMERS pensioners suggest future retirees consider health in retirement: survey

OMERS pensioners suggest future retirees consider health in retirement: survey

The vast majority (86 per cent) of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s pensioners are happy they retired when they did, according to a new…

  • By: Staff
  • July 14, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:27
Green Shield to introduce new pharmacy rating system

Green Shield to introduce new pharmacy rating system

Green Shield Canada is rolling out a new pharmacy rating system in October 2017. The insurer’s program will measure individual pharmacies’ performance and provide feedback…

  • By: Staff
  • July 14, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:00
Sears Canada agrees to continue special payments to DB plan, retiree benefits

Sears Canada agrees to continue special payments to DB plan, retiree benefits

Sears Canada Inc. has reversed course and will continue to make special payments to its defined benefit pension plan and provide post-employment benefits plans until…

Stelco workers, retirees learn fate of benefits plans as restructuring finalized

Stelco workers, retirees learn fate of benefits plans as restructuring finalized

U.S. Steel Canada Inc. has successfully restructured and has exited protection under the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act with Bedrock Industries Group LLC as its new…

  • By: Staff
  • July 12, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00
League launches online health platform offering chats with nurses

League launches online health platform offering chats with nurses

Canadian digital benefits platform League has introduced a virtual care platform that delivers online health services to employees. The service allows employees who are members…

  • By: Staff
  • July 11, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:58
Quebec drug reform likely to fall short on promised cost savings

Quebec drug reform likely to fall short on promised cost savings

Quebec has made headlines over the past week by proposing to move to a tendering process for generic drugs in an effort to reduce the…

  • July 6, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 16:45
Continued DB special payments would imperil Sears operations, CFO warns

Continued DB special payments would imperil Sears operations, CFO warns

Requiring Sears Canada Inc. to continue special payments to its defined benefit pension plan would put the company’s operations at risk given its liquidity constraints, the…

  • By: Staff
  • July 6, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 15:39
Drugs costs, genetic testing on agenda for new CLHIA president

Drugs costs, genetic testing on agenda for new CLHIA president

As technology and heightened customer expectations spur demand for change in life and health benefits, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is aiming to…

  • By: Jann Lee
  • July 5, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:30
Cost of U.S. multi-employer health plans rising by 4.8% annually: study

Cost of U.S. multi-employer health plans rising by 4.8% annually: study

The cost of multi-employer health plans in the United States has increased consistently over the past decade, rising at an average of 4.8 per cent per…

  • By: Staff
  • July 5, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:15
Ex-Sears Canada employees receiving bad news about severance, benefits

Ex-Sears Canada employees receiving bad news about severance, benefits

Former Sears Canada Inc. employees are already feeling the impact of the company’s restructuring proceedings as they receive letters informing them of cuts to severance payments and…

Generic industry asks Quebec to abandon ‘risky path’ on drug tenders

Generic industry asks Quebec to abandon ‘risky path’ on drug tenders

The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association is urging Quebec to abandon its plan to issue tenders for generic drugs. The provincial government’s plan represents a risky…

  • By: Staff
  • June 29, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 10:23
Employers urged to prepare for Saskatchewan insurance tax

Employers urged to prepare for Saskatchewan insurance tax

Employers with staff in Saskatchewan will see their insurance premiums rise by six per cent this August due to a new tax introduced by the…

  • By: Jann Lee
  • June 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 16:30
Quebec move on drug bids ‘one to watch’ as private plans expected to benefit

Quebec move on drug bids ‘one to watch’ as private plans expected to benefit

Quebec’s long-awaited move to ask drug manufacturers to bid for exclusive supply contracts for generic prescription drugs should help private benefit plans, according to an expert on…

  • By: Jann Lee
  • June 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 10:30
Trillium changes pushed back as Ontario seeks ‘further learning’ about co-ordination

Trillium changes pushed back as Ontario seeks ‘further learning’ about co-ordination

As plan sponsors wait for more information on changes to Ontario’s Trillium program for catastrophic drug costs, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care…

51% of executives predict benefits plans to be more generous by 2037

51% of executives predict benefits plans to be more generous by 2037

Despite all of the worries over costs, more than half of employers surveyed by Benefits Canada expect benefits to be more generous 20 years from now.…

  • By: Staff
  • June 27, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:02
How do Canadian executives see the future of pensions and benefits?

How do Canadian executives see the future of pensions and benefits?

As part of its celebration of its 40th anniversary, Benefits Canada followed up on research undertaken five years ago into plan sponsors’ attitudes towards their…

Shift towards DC approach to health benefits inevitable

Shift towards DC approach to health benefits inevitable

As we celebrate Benefits Canada’s 40th anniversary, it’s a good time to look ahead to the next 40 years. Looking ahead, I see the inevitable…

  • By: Joe Nunes
  • June 27, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:52
A creative way to use wellness credits to boost productivity

A creative way to use wellness credits to boost productivity

At up to 10 per cent of total payroll costs, benefits plans represent a significant investment for organizations. But what does the employer get out…

Reformulary Group launches early warning system for high-cost drugs

Reformulary Group launches early warning system for high-cost drugs

The Reformulary Group has introduced an early warning system that aims to help plan administrators and employers monitor and prepare for new-high cost drugs. The…

  • By: Staff
  • June 26, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 08:55
Medavie Blue Cross adds smoking-cessation services to chronic disease benefit

Medavie Blue Cross adds smoking-cessation services to chronic disease benefit

Medavie Blue Cross is adding heart health and smoking-cessation services to its extended health benefit designed to help manage chronic disease. The health benefit already…

  • By: Staff
  • June 22, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 14:35
B.C. benefits trust successful in double-dipping case

B.C. benefits trust successful in double-dipping case

When it comes to wage indemnity benefits, employees can’t double-dip even if they’ve been successful in a human rights case, the Supreme Court of British…

Doctor shopping for erectile dysfunction drugs cited in new report on Toronto benefits plan

Doctor shopping for erectile dysfunction drugs cited in new report on Toronto benefits plan

The City of Toronto’s auditor general is raising yet more concerns about benefits fraud after discovering employees may have shopped around for doctors to get…

  • By: Staff
  • June 21, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 10:25
League expands to U.S. health benefits market

League expands to U.S. health benefits market

Canadian digital benefits platform League is expanding into the United States, with plans to be in the largest 10 metropolitan areas by the summer of…

No medical condition limitations for OPSEU’s new marijuana coverage

No medical condition limitations for OPSEU’s new marijuana coverage

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is now offering its employees $3,000 to spend on medical marijuana per year. Around 400 employees, their spouses and…

  • By: Jann Lee
  • June 19, 2017 September 13, 2019
  • 09:15