There’s nothing like a number of employees from different generations to keep employers thinking about their benefits offering. "Now we have five different cohorts in the workforce," said Marilee Mark, vice-president, market development, group benefits, with Sun Life Financial.
At 63, Michael (Mike) Gates Gill found himself jobless and diagnosed with cancer—and without any retirement savings or health insurance.
Continuing the hospital funding freeze in this year’s Ontario budget will hurt patients and overcrowd hospitals even more. That’s the position of healthcare practitioners, who note this is the fourth consecutive year that the province’s hospitals will see real-dollar budget cuts.
A chronic disease (such as high blood pressure, diabetes) is one that can be modified by behaviour. But behaviour modification isn’t easy. According to Green Shield Canada’s 2013/14 Age Band Study, results from respondents in their 20s through to their 60s showed that the use of drugs for chronic disease was not only prevalent in […]
The average cost increase for employer-sponsored medical plans globally will dip slightly in 2015 but continue to significantly exceed general inflation levels, says Aon Hewitt.
Canadian employers that use drug plan management strategies such as pay-direct cards, generic substitution or dispensing fee caps can realize significantly lower healthcare costs.
The median wait time for Canadians seeking medically necessary surgery or other therapeutic treatment remains stalled at 18.2 weeks, the same as 2013, finds the Fraser Institute's 24th annual wait times report.
Health spending in Canada is projected to post its slowest growth rate since 1997, a trend that has emerged over the last four years, according to data released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. While expenditures are increasing annually, the rate of spending is at 2.1%—a record low over the last 17 years.
Canadians should hold off on declaring a slowdown in government healthcare spending to sustainable growth rates, says a C.D. Howe Institute report.
Three-quarters of Canadians feel that health and medical costs will have the biggest financial impact on their senior years, according to a report.