Ontario’s signal that it may restrict or eliminate preferred pharmacy networks has created urgency for plan sponsors that rely on these arrangements to manage drug plan costs and access. Preferred pharmacy networks have been used in private drug plans for more than a decade. A PPN is a group of pharmacies selected because they offer […]
Employer-sponsored health benefits costs are set to increase by 9.8 per cent in 2026, according to a new report by Aon. The report pointed to a return to single-digit growth for the first time since 2023, but also underscores the reality that price inflation, advanced medical technologies, increased benefits utilization and rising prescription drug costs […]
U.S. employer health-care costs are projected to climb 9.5 per cent in 2026, pushing average plan costs above US$17,000 per employee, according to a new report by Aon. The report draws on the firm’s health value initiative database, which tracks plan costs and designs for more than 1,000 employers covering 7.7 million employees and US$120 […]
Institutional investors are navigating two massive innovations, namely artificial intelligence and artificial incretins, said Jennifer O’Hara Martin, global equity portfolio specialist at T. Rowe Price, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2024 Global Investment Conference in April. People tend to compare the current AI trend to the technology bubble of the 2000s and while its infrastructure is similar, […]
As more insurers turn to preferred pharmacy networks to decrease costs, their efforts are being met with some resistance by plan members who may be finding it difficult and inconvenient to switch pharmacy providers. In January, Manulife Financial Corp.’s move to a preferred pharmacy network with Loblaw Cos. Ltd.’s Shoppers Drug Mart was met with […]
Health Minister Mark Holland tabled a long-awaited bill Thursday meant to pave the way for national pharmacare and preserve a deal that secures the New Democratic Party’s support for the government in the House of Commons. The bill includes a program to cover birth control as well as diabetes drugs and supplies for anyone with […]
In the year ahead, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association will continue its advocacy efforts to ensure the federal government’s proposed pharmacare plan extends coverage for those who lack benefits without disrupting workplace benefits that millions of working Canadians rely on, says Stephen Frank, the association’s president and chief executive officer. The right approach to […]
More than half (55 per cent) of Canadians were covered under employer-sponsored drug plans in 2019, while roughly a third were covered under government-sponsored plans (21 per cent), private plans (six per cent) and association-sponsored plans (five per cent), according to a new report by Statistics Canada. Nearly 50 per cent of recent and established immigrants […]
Canada’s life and health insurers paid out a record $114 billion in health and retirement benefits last year, up $11 billion since before the coronavirus pandemic and up 60 per cent from a decade ago, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s annual fact book. “During a year when many households faced higher […]
Half (51 per cent) of plan members say the coverage levels of at least one of their health benefits limit their ability to seek necessary treatment, jumping to 84 per cent among those with a major injury in the past 12 months, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found this percentage increased […]