When Bell Canada launched its Bell Let’s Talk initiative in 2010, the telecommunications company announced a plan to spend $155 million on fighting stigma, improving access to care and funding research for mental health — but it also knew it had to lead by example. One of the pillars of its plan was improving the […]
Treatment for mental health isn’t effectively covered by public health systems, which means care for chronic disease management and mental health — by and large — falls into the lap of employers and employees, according to Adam Kelly, CloudMD’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2022 Mental Health Summit. Organizations are […]
As the coronavirus crisis enters an endemic phase, employers are beginning to see a return to pre-pandemic levels in paramedical benefits’ usage. During the first eight months of the pandemic, many plan members put off paramedical appointments because they were uncomfortable with non-essential, in-person interactions. In addition, many paramedical services were unavailable due to restrictions […]
A majority of plan sponsors (80 per cent) and plan members (77 per cent) described the quality of their health benefits plans as excellent or good, according to the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. Employers with 500 or more employees (86 per cent) were more likely than those with fewer than 50 employees (72 per […]
Canadian life and health insurers processed nearly $600 million in claims related to mental health in 2021, up 45 per cent since 2020 and 75 per cent since 2019, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s annual fact book. “2021 was a year of recovery and insurers have been proud partners helping employers […]
The union representing employees at Glencore’s Raglan Mine in Nunavik, Que. has ratified an agreement that includes benefits gains and increases in paid disability leave. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of the members of United Steelworkers Local 9449 voted in favour of the five-year agreement, which includes short-term disability coverage of 70 per cent of […]
After living through a prolonged global pandemic, Canadian benefits plan sponsors are facing a professional environment that’s almost unrecognizable to pre-2020 years. The coronavirus pandemic affected employees at a personal level and is also being felt by employers and their workplace benefits plans, said Jason Kennedy, general manager of virtual pharmacy for TELUS Health, during […]
Ontario’s school support staff are moving toward a strike vote starting Sept. 23 over extended benefits, short-term disability leave and wage increases, among other requests by the workers’ union the Canadian Union of Public Employees. In its initial proposal, the CUPE is asking the government to provide additional funds to cover the increasing costs of […]
While more than a third of disability claims under Canadian employer-sponsored benefits plans in 2022 were due to mental-health reasons, just two-thirds (63 per cent) of organizations are addressing this risk effectively, according to a new survey by Mercer. The survey, which polled more than 100 organizations globally, found more than half (55 per cent) […]
In the age of the #MeToo movement, the coronavirus pandemic and the global outcry for social justice, Canadians workers have been glued to their phones or tablets. Doomscrolling — the ongoing consumption of negative news — is taking its toll on their mental health. Doomscrolling is on the rise in Canada and employers need to […]