The job of a pension consultant has evolved considerably over Bita Jenab’s 30-year career in the field. The mid-1990s saw a greater focus on governance and the arrival of the investment consultant, while the 2000s featured a mass move to defined contribution plans and significant changes to pension legislation. Through all of that, plan sponsors […]
One in every five Canadian suffers from some form of chronic pain, a condition that often — though not always —starts with an injury or illness and lasts more than three months or beyond the normal recovery period. With so many Canadians suffering from chronic pain, one would assume its treatment would be well understood in […]
While the federal government’s proposed amendments to Canada’s patented medicines regulations are aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs, they risk limiting patient access to new, innovative medications, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. “Establishing drug prices has always been a balance between affordability and accessibility, but by markedly shifting the scales towards lower prices, […]
In a meeting in Saint Andrews, N.B., on Friday, provincial and territorial premiers met to discuss ways to improve health care for Canadians, including the implementation of a national pharmacare program. Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, was also in the meeting and said she is encouraged that there is support […]
When it instituted random drug testing last year, the Toronto Transit Commission was eager to ensure its employees knew what it expected of them. To get the message out, the transit authority mailed a handbook last year to the home of every employee and published it online so all workers would be fully aware of […]
The federal government has announced the appointment of the remaining members of its advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. Besides former Ontario health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins, who’s the chair of the advisory council, the members are: Mia Homsy, director general of the Institut du Québec, who will serve as vice-chair of the […]
From pharmacare to analytics, plan sponsors heard about the big issues on the horizon for their benefits plans at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit. Presenters at the May 29 event took the audience through a range of topics, including the implications of marijuana legalization and new developments in health-care delivery. And two years after the […]
By taking the use of data to the next level, employers and insurers can improve their ability to promote better health through benefits plans. That was a key message from Tarick Fadel, director of analytics, research and pricing at Alberta Blue Cross, during a presentation at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit on May 29. “We […]
Canada could save an estimated $280 million a year in drug costs if biosimilar uptake here reached the levels seen in Norway, a speaker told attendees at a recent event in Calgary. “One problem with biosimilars is their uptake,” Andrea Staruch, a pharmacy services consultant at Green Shield Canada, said during a presentation at Benefits […]
With the workplace changing rapidly, the health-care landscape will be evolving along with it, a speaker told the audience at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit last month. “We believe there is an unmet need in Canadian health care today that we need innovation to address — not just to get people well but to keep […]