A growing number of organizations are moving beyond compliance to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in their workplaces. According to research, companies that have embraced a DEI strategy improved their bottom line with a 53 per cent return on equity, a 42 per cent return on sales, in addition to being 70 per cent more […]
The coronavirus pandemic is demonstrating that pharmacists are a key health-care provider, with one study finding nearly 75 per cent of pharmacists have had patients who sought care at the pharmacy because they were afraid of going to any other health-care setting. A panel during Benefits Canada‘s Face to Face in Drug Plan Management Forum in […]
The Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corp.’s high-cost drug framework provided coverage to almost 28,000 Canadians and their families where drug costs exceeded $10,000 annually in 2020. According to its results, the CDIPC estimated that its member insurance companies reimbursed claims associated with 54 new high-cost drugs including those for rare diseases. As well, based on past experience, […]
Migraine affects 12 to 15 per cent of Canadians, said Dr. Elizabeth Leroux, a Montreal-based neurologist, president of the Canadian Headache Society and chair of Migraine Canada, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada and sponsored by Lundbeck Canada Inc. in October. According to the World Health Organization, a severe migraine attack is as disabling […]
As innovative medicines become more widely covered in workplace drug plans, employers are tasked with finding new ways to control costs while ensuring members receive the best value. “Obviously, this is good because such offers provide more treatments for employees and their families that can help get them back to the workplace sooner rather than […]
Canadian employers are making ongoing changes to their pension and benefits offerings as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey found almost one in five (18 per cent) employers offering prescription drug coverage have extended the time allowed under prior authorization periods, […]
The New Brunswick government is expanding the use of biosimilars for certain chronic conditions in its public drug plans. Approximately 3,000 beneficiaries of the province’s drug plans who are living with diseases such as inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and psoriasis will have until Nov. 30 to switch from a biologic to the biosimilar […]
While a national pharmacare program is yet to be revealed by the federal government, any future plan should contain provisions for all costly treatments and not just rare diseases, says Jennifer Schmidt, a principal at Mercer Canada. Read: Federal budget highlights national childcare system, extension of pandemic subsidies This week’s federal budget announcement contained only […]
While drug plan costs are increasing for plan sponsors, the causes for these increases may depend on which part of Canada a plan sponsor resides in, says Philippe Laplante, a principal responsible for the group benefits practice in Eckler Ltd.’s Montreal office. Over the past three years in Quebec, the average annual increase of recommended pricing […]
In its 2020 budget submission to the Ontario government, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is highlighting a lack of access to affordable prescription drugs and inflexible pension plans. With respect to prescription drugs, the CLHIA noted it supports the federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board reforms, which were introduced on Friday. “It is crucial that the […]