There’s been no shortage of recent studies indicating that for the past few years, prescription drug inflation in Canada has been relatively flat. Drug patent expiration and pressure from provincial governments to reduce generic drug prices are two of the biggest contributing factors to this recent phenomenon. So, if prescription drug inflation is flat and drugs are the largest component of most employer-sponsored health plans, why are insurers still using annualized health trend rates in excess of 11% to determine premium rates?
Governments need to step up their efforts to improve mental health care, which remains poorly resourced and underprioritized in too many countries, according to a report.
An improving American economy and stable financial markets have given financial executives confidence to explore a range of options to help their companies better manage the costs and risks of their healthcare, pension and other benefits programs, according to a report.
A typical Canadian family will pay nearly $12,000 for public healthcare this year, an increase of more than 50% over the last decade.
Despite similar costs, the Dutch healthcare system features shorter wait times than the Canadian system with similar to superior outcomes, according to a study.
As we know, Canadians receive most of their healthcare services through a publicly funded system administered by their province of residence and funded by the federal government. Each province and territory has an established insurance plan that delivers medically necessary hospital and physicians’ services to residents.
As employers look for new ways to improve the health and well-being of their workforce, a survey from Aon Hewitt, the National Business Group on Health and The Futures Company reveals that female employees in the United States are more concerned about their health and place a higher priority on staying healthy than their male counterparts.
The cost of providing employee healthcare benefits has stabilized around the globe, although a new round of increases may be on the horizon for employers.
Projected cost increases for all types of medical plans in the United States are anticipated to be down by between 0.1 and 0.5 percentage points in 2014, according to a survey by Buck Consultants.
While Canadian plan sponsors are more likely to be subsidiaries of American companies, there are many Canadian companies with subsidiaries in the United States. For those that manage U.S. benefits programs from their Canadian head office, U.S. medical benefits can be a more than a bit intimidating.