Many effective strategies exist when it comes to managing specialty drug costs, but a coordinated approach that takes the financial, clinical and pharmacy elements into account is key to achieving a balance between access and spending, according to Telus Health’s Cory Cowan. Cowan, the organization’s director of professional services, told attendees at the 2018 Pharmacy […]
Medical plan costs paid by employers are outpacing inflation, according to a new report by Aon. In Canada, however, medical cost inflation is trending down, lower than both the global and North American averages. Aon expects Canadian medical costs to rise by six per cent next year. Factored against average general inflation of 2.1 per cent in 2019, […]
Controlling costs on both the employer and employee side of benefits plans is a top concern for human resources professionals, according to a new survey by Hub International Ltd. The survey, which polled nearly 200 benefits decision-makers at Canadian organizations, found 36 per cent of respondents said employee costs are a concern and 32 per cent said employer […]
A report from Nova Scotia’s auditor general is once again highlighting the “troubling” state of the Nova Scotia teachers’ pension plan, which is 78.4 per cent funded and has a $1.4 billion deficit. The province is responsible for half of that figure. Auditor general Michael Pickup warned there is no formal plan on how to deal with […]
Due to the elimination of the unfunded liability of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s insurance fund, premium rates for employers will be reduced by almost 30 per cent. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the reduction will help employers save money, increase investment and create more jobs, resulting in a $1.45 billion injection into the Ontario economy, according […]
Among American employees enrolled in an employer-sponsored health plan, just seven per cent pay no deductible, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Among those with single coverage, nearly half (46 per cent) of respondents pay a deductible between $1,000 and $2,999, followed by $500 to $999 (19 per cent), under […]
The escalating cost of drugs and benefits plans are among the top priorities for Canadian employers, according to a new survey by Aon. The survey, which polled nearly 200 Canadian plan sponsors about their priorities related to group benefits and their workforces, found rising drug costs, in general, escalating specialty drug prices, in particular, and the increasing cost of extended health are the […]
As September approaches, activity in the catastrophic stop-loss insurance market will start to heat up for self-insured plan sponsors. This is when the annual dance of plans obtaining their proposed premium for the coming year, and trying to find ways to mitigate the increase, hits a fever pitch. Imagine a province, without a single provincial insurer, […]
High-cost drugs accounted for 41.6 per cent of patented medicine sales in 2017, up from 8.3 per cent a decade earlier, according to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s latest annual report. Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor tabled the report, which also illustrated a rise in the sales of patented medicines in 2017. Sales […]
The vast majority (87 per cent) of physicians said the knowledge that a patient has private drug coverage affects their prescribing behaviour, according to a survey by Merck Canada Inc. More specifically, the survey found 26 per cent of general practitioners and 28 per cent of specialists believe this knowledge widens the treatment options available to the patient. Other effects […]