biosimilars – Benefits Canada.com

Prescription drug costs in public plans hit $12.5BN in 2019/20: report

lbailey — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 14:00:34 +0000

Prescription drug costs for public drug plans rose to $12.5 billion in 2019/20, a 3.7 per cent rise in spending since 2017/18, driven primarily by increases in the use of higher-cost drugs, according to a report by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. The report, which reviewed data from the National Prescription Drug Utilization Information […]

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Award finalists discuss mental health, enhanced communications amid pandemic

bwolfe — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:00:09 +0000

More than 19 months into the coronavirus pandemic, employers are focusing on enhanced mental-health offerings and streamlined communications for their benefits and pension plans. During a virtual roundtable on Oct. 14, the 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards finalists discussed the changes brought about by the pandemic and how they’ve adapted their benefits and pensions offerings, while looking […]

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Head to head: Should private drug plans require biosimilar non-medical switching?

mdunne — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 12:59:32 +0000

While one side highlights how plan sponsors can contribute to biosimilar sustainability, the other touts the benefits to patients and the health-care system. Durhane Wong-Rieger, president and chief executive officer, Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes The Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes recently published a scorecard rating the biosimilar policy frameworks of European countries across seven […]

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Mental-health, specialty medications driving drug costs in 2020: report

lbailey — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 13:00:39 +0000

Canadians’ health priorities are shifting as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, as claims for medications to treat mental-health conditions continued to rise in 2020, along with claims for specialty drugs designed to treat rarer, yet increasingly chronic diseases, according to Telus Health’s annual drug trends report. There were noticeable shifts in the utilization of mental-health […]

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2021 BPS coverage: Plan member use of specialty drugs on the rise with novel therapies

Jennifer Paterson — Wed, 26 May 2021 13:10:03 +0000

The growing use of specialty medications among plan members continued to drive the increase in plan sponsors’ drug plan costs last year, well eclipsing the increase in traditional drug spending, according to Telus Health. Canadian plan sponsors’ drug spending on insured plan members between the ages of 25 and 64 increased 3.6 per cent in […]

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New Brunswick expanding biosimilars policy in public drug plans

bwolfe — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 19:00:07 +0000

The New Brunswick government is expanding the use of biosimilars for certain chronic conditions in its public drug plans. Approximately 3,000 beneficiaries of the province’s drug plans who are living with diseases such as inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and psoriasis will have until Nov. 30 to switch from a biologic to the biosimilar […]

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Webinar coverage: Switching to biosimilars can generate savings, say early adopters

mdunne — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:57:07 +0000

With Canadian biologic drug sales growing at a rate of 13 per cent annually over the last 10 years, plan sponsors are looking for ways to manage the related costs — and the introduction of biosimilars may help. At a recent Pfizer-sponsored webinar hosted by Benefits Canada, “Evidence to Policy — Biosimilar Transitioning in Canada,” two […]

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Biosimilars, pharmacogenetics helping to shape future of pharmacy benefits management

mschmit — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 05:00:06 +0000

Plan sponsors with growing concerns about benefits plan sustainability should focus on a few strategic pharmacy benefits plan issues, said Mark Rolnick, executive vice-president of pharmacy innovation and patient experience at Green Shield Canada, during a session at Benefits Canada’s Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum on Dec. 9, 2020. He recommended that plans […]

How plan sponsors can contain rising drug costs in 2021

mschmit — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 05:03:22 +0000

With drug costs for plan sponsors steadily rising in recent years, keeping budgets down is top of mind as they plan for 2021. “The biggest concern for plan sponsors is sustainability,” said Shawn O’Brien, principal of data enablement and drug, health, dental product roadmap for Telus Health, in a press release. “They have to find a […]

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A legislative update on provincial biosimilar policies

mschmit — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 04:55:07 +0000

When the City of Toronto switched benefits plan insurers in 2017, it changed its coverage for biologics and biosimilars. Under its previous plan, the City reimbursed employees for the drugs their doctors recommended and prescribed; now, it follows its new insurer’s mandatory biosimilars policy, while grandfathering any plan member who was already taking a biologic […]

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