When it comes to mental-health challenges in the workplace, the focus is shifting to prevention and early intervention rather than diagnosis and treatment, according to the head…
Starbucks Coffee Company is introducing critical illness insurance plans for parents of full-time employees in mainland China beginning June 1, 2017. “Supporting critical illnesses for…
Last Friday, Benefits Canada profiled an employer that had given each employee a Fitbit to promote exercise and wellness as part of its well-being program.…
A new study has found taking medical marijuana can reduce the amount of benzodiazepines a patient takes. Canabo Medical Inc., which owns 15 referral clinics…
Mississauga, Ont.-based Smart Employee Benefits Inc. has announced it has acquired Aon Hewitt Inc.’s mid-market health and welfare administration business in Canada. The administration business…
The Toronto Transit Commission has confirmed that more than 100 employees have either resigned or been dismissed as part of a benefits fraud investigation. In…
Last week, Benefits Canada reported that Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Companies Ltd. had introduced medical marijuana to their employee drug plan. Eligible employees will be…
British Columbia PharmaCare has partnered with Pacific Blue Cross to introduce new claims technology that aims to improve the process for plan members seeking approvals…
Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Companies Ltd. have introduced a medical marijuana benefit to their drug plan. Forty-five thousand employees are eligible for the benefit,…
In the 2017 budget released last week, the federal government said it’s aiming to lower pharmaceutical prices and improve access to prescription medications through significant investments in…
Innovation in the employee benefits world has historically happened in relatively small increments. Besides some subtle tweaks, plan design has changed very little. Recent enhancements to…
Toronto city councillors are asking questions after the municipality’s auditor general raised red flags about several questionable benefits claims, including the case of an employee…
Morneau Shepell is partnering with the Immigration Industry Association to provide employee assistance services to expatriates, migrants and people who are considering migrating. The program is…
While the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is welcoming the Alberta government’s plan to create a provincial dental fee guide, it’s calling on the province to…
Some see it as an eternal struggle: the goodhearted doctor championing the best treatments, no matter the cost, while doing battle against the tightfisted insurance…
With drug plan costs back on the upswing amid unprecedented increases for stop-loss or pooling insurance, benefits advisors and insurers are seeing more plan sponsors…
Last week, after years of declining revenue, Postmedia Network Inc. released an internal memo announcing significant cuts to non-unionized employees’ benefits. At first glance, the…
I remember when employers were concerned about the potential impact of a little blue pill called Viagra that came with an annual price tag of about…
All Ontarians under the age of 65 who spend a significant amount of their annual household income on prescription drugs are eligible for the Trillium drug…
A report published last week suggested that making certain prescription medications available as over-the-counter drugs could save Canadian insurers, employers, governments and patients $1 billion…
What new cancer treatments are emerging that will affect the workplace and how can employers do a better job of supporting their employees with cancer?…
Employers must acknowledge the role of family caregivers to get a true picture of the costs of cancer care, according to a University of Alberta…
Improvements in cancer treatments are driving patients out of hospital beds and back into their own homes. “Cancer is now a treatable, chronic disease. With…
Developing new drugs is only half of the job for those treating lung cancer, according to a medical oncologist. Most people know that the biology…
The old saying about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure works just as well when it comes to cancer care as…