Cancer – Benefits Canada.com

Employer health benefits cost trends to rise 8.1% globally in 2022: survey

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 20:00:15 +0000

Employer-sponsored health benefits cost trends are expected to increase 8.1 per cent on average globally in 2022, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. The survey, which polled medical insurers across various geographic regions, found cost trends are expected to be as high as 14.2 per cent in Latin America, followed by 10.6 […]

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Editorial: Chronic disease, mental health in spotlight as pandemic surges on

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:00:38 +0000

With the Delta variant leading the coronavirus pandemic in a renewed surge, employers continue to have a surplus of challenges, regardless of whether or not they’re planning a return to the workplace. I discussed this latter challenge in my Editorial last month, but at the risk of heaping on more doom and gloom, it may […]

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How Rolls Royce Canada is reducing drug plan costs while maintaining benefits offering

bwolfe — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 12:58:34 +0000

As innovative medicines become more widely covered in workplace drug plans, employers are tasked with finding new ways to control costs while ensuring members receive the best value. “Obviously, this is good because such offers provide more treatments for employees and their families that can help get them back to the workplace sooner rather than […]

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2021 BPS coverage: Drug, disability claims stabilizing but pandemic’s impact lingers

bwolfe — Tue, 25 May 2021 13:05:07 +0000

While the rates of drug and disability claims are returning to their pre-pandemic levels, employers are still contending with the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their benefits plans. Following the declaration of the pandemic in March 2020, there was a subsequent surge in drug claims attributed to medication stockpiling, said Frédéric Leblanc, strategic advisor […]

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What does return to work look like for cancer patients?

bwolfe — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 13:00:59 +0000

When a 46-year-old woman was diagnosed in early 2016 with stage-two triple-negative breast cancer, she started planning her return to full-time work at almost the same time she began treatment. “It’s interesting because when we think of return-to-work planning, we think of starting to talk about this toward the end of the treatment phase,” said […]

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Webinar: Current health-care policies impacting private drug coverage

mschmit — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 05:00:13 +0000

On May 12, Benefits Canada hosted a webinar to discuss the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts during the coronavirus crisis, as well as some key policy issues for Canadian insurers and their potential impact from the private-payer perspective. Since the end of April, 139 coronavirus treatments have been under investigation and Health Canada has approved several clinical trials […]

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Specialty drug usage, traditional drug costs drive small rise in 2019 spending: report

mschmit — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 06:00:49 +0000

Private drug plans saw a slight uptick in costs in 2019 due to the increased use of specialty drugs and higher price points for traditional medications, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report found private drug plan spending per claimant increased one per cent over 2018’s figures. Plans’ annual spend per claimant on […]

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Conference coverage: 2020 Employers Cancer Care Summit

mschmit — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 10:55:14 +0000

On March 3, the 2020 Employers Cancer Care Summit featured sessions on cancer-related issues and opportunities tied to benefits plans and the workplace. Many perspectives required when covering cancer drugs on benefits plans While treatment options for cancer are more than they used to be, many still aren’t covered under the public health-care system, according to Tim […]

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Many perspectives required when covering cancer drugs on benefits plans

mschmit — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 10:50:22 +0000

While treatment options for cancer are more than they used to be, many still aren’t covered under the public health-care system, according to Tim Clarke, president of TC Health Consulting Inc. In a session at Benefits Canada’s 2020 Employers Cancer Care Summit on Mar. 3, he said employer costs for cancer drug treatments have doubled between […]

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Immunotherapy innovations beneficial in kidney cancer treatment

mschmit — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 10:49:52 +0000

While kidney cancer is uncommon in patients younger than age 45, there’s an increasing incidence in diagnosis in young people because of the advent of imaging technology, according to Dr. Nazanin Fallah-Rad, medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital. “There’s an increasing incidence of younger people being diagnosed with kidney cancer and […]

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