Canadian employers may intuitively understand the benefits of investing in prevention and health promotion programs for their employees, but they’re still struggling to demonstrate a clear, positive return on investment (ROI) for such programs.
The lure of better rates, better service, streamlined administration, faster claims reimbursement and a more client focused service platform are the focal points used by carriers to attract employee benefits plan business.
While biologic drugs can represent a significant percentage of a plan’s drug costs, a Green Shield report says they are not the only thing driving up costs. Of course, plan sponsors need to actively manage biologics as use continues to grow, but they need to look for other places to also control drugs costs.
Growing drug plan costs are putting pressure on benefits plan sponsors to move to managed formularies—but industry stakeholders must first work together to change the drug evaluation process to ensure coverage decisions deliver the best value.
It was with disappointment that I read about the recent bankruptcy of PCAS Patient Care Automation Services Inc., and the related companies that were commonly known as PharmaTrust, the manufacturer of remote dispensing machines.
It’s no secret that health and dental benefits represent a substantial cost for organizations. Yet most employers pay for these costs with little more than blind faith, because the types of internal controls and audits used to verify other company expenses just won’t work for benefits costs.
Brian Mulroney is wading into the high-stakes debate over patent protection in the free trade talks with Europe, and he's clearly taking sides.
Drug spending in Canada continues to increase and is closely watched by employers. However, a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) has revealed some unexpected results.
The average employer pays between $3,000 and $6,000 per employee, per year, for a benefits program, depending on plan design and demographics. On that basis alone, wouldn’t you like to know if you are getting the most value out of your investment?
Fundamentally, a group health and dental program is simply a “cost-plus” arrangement.