Global health service provider Cigna Corp. is acquiring Express Scripts Holding Co. in a deal valued at $67 billion. The stock and cash transaction includes Cigna’s assumption of about $15 billion in debt held by Express Scripts. Upon closing, Cigna shareholders will own about 64 per cent of the combined company and Express Scripts shareholders will own […]
As the workplace undergoes rapid transformation amid automation and technological advancements, plan sponsors will need to re-imagine the crossroads between new technology and employee benefits. The issues will be a key focus of panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2018 Benefits and Pension Summit on April 16, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. “I think what we’re trying to […]
B.C. plan sponsors will have lots of questions to consider as the provincial government prepares to introduce a new employer health tax. “It’s going to be interesting, because the employers, obviously, are going to be looking at that employer health tax as a cost of doing business,” says Avinash Maniram, a partner and senior consultant at PBI […]
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of American employers offered telemedicine services to their employees in 2017, a rise from just 49 per cent in 2016, according to a new survey by WorldatWork. Alison Avalos, director of research and certification at the U.S.-based human resources association, noted the dramatic increase is likely due to employers’ efforts to manage […]
From brain fog to fatigue, cancer patients face a range of challenges when it comes to staying at or going back to work. And with a significant number of cancer diagnoses happening to people during their prime working years, employers do have a role in supporting employees in dealing with their conditions, a speaker at Benefits Canada‘s […]
The 2018 budget has confirmed the federal government is creating an advisory council on the implementation of a national pharmacare program. Marc-André Gagnon, associate professor at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, believes the budget’s wording around implementation, rather than consultation, marks a real commitment to moving forward on this issue. “The advisory council is really […]
British Columbia is introducing a new employer health tax as it moves to fully eliminate medical services plan premiums. During the province’s 2018 budget announcement on Tuesday, Finance Minister Carole James said the government will eliminate premiums by Jan. 1, 2020. The government estimates the move will save people up to $900 a year and families up to $1,800 a year. Read: Seven […]
Sun Life Financial Canada is adding optional medical marijuana coverage to its group benefits plans from March 1, 2018. Coverage of the drug will be added as an extended health-care benefit at the request of plan sponsors. It will include a yearly maximum, ranging between $1,500 and $6,000, a prior approval process and coverage criteria. The insurance company said it […]
A group of 28 patient advocacy organizations are urging Health Canada to stop its review of drug pricing. The federal government announced changes to drug price regulation in December 2017, setting out proposals through the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board that it estimates will deliver $12.6 billion in net benefits over 10 years through lower drug costs. Read: Feds […]
The Great-West Life Assurance Co. is contributing $300,000 to a Toronto-based program that aims to help technology startups working to improve economic productivity and human well-being. The insurance company will contribute the funds over three years to seed-stage program Creative Destruction Lab, part of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. The program, which runs over nine months, provides entrepreneurs with […]