Employers should be closely examining the underlying drivers of cost growth in their drug plans, according to a new report by Innovative Medicines Canada. “Typically, [plan sponsors] get their report at the end of the year, they’ll see a cost for their drug plan and they don’t know what’s driving it,” says Joe Farago, the […]
Mental health is the third largest health spend in terms of benefits plan management, according to Derek Weir, manager of health benefit solutions at Medavie Blue Cross. “Fifty-three per cent of Canadians consider anxiety and depression ‘epidemic’ in Canada and 85 per cent say mental-health services are among the most underfunded in health care,” he said […]
Looking ahead to 2020, the big story for health benefits is often avoided because it isn’t easy to address. It’s the elephant in the room. Over the past year, there’s been no shortage of momentum in new and emerging product offerings in the health benefits space — everything from digital cognitive behavioural therapy to virtual […]
When it came to asking his employer to add continuous glucose monitoring to its benefits package, John Whitehead, a level-two food server at Niagara Casinos, went all in. He’s had type 1 diabetes for years, and lived through many technological developments to help manage his condition. While he says blood glucose monitoring represented a major improvement, it […]
As the prevalence of diabetes continues to rise, so do the increases in cost, according to Adam Hotchkiss, medical science liaison at Novo Nordisk Canada, during Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Halifax Benefits Summit on Sept. 24. “In 2010, $11.7 billion was spent in Canada on the treatment of diabetes as well as its complications,” he said. “This is […]
Since diabetes is a progressive disease, it’s important to get treatment in the middle, according to Dr. Thomas Ransom, endocrinologist at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, during Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Halifax Benefits Summit on Sept. 24. If diabetes is under-treated, blood sugars go up and stick to things — eyes, kidneys, nerves, feet, he said. And if it’s […]
The Health Association of Nova Scotia, which has a number of different employers in its benefits plan, cites rheumatoid arthritis medications as its top drugs in terms of cost. “Chronic disease, in terms of inflammatory disease — not just for rheumatoid, but for Crohn’s disease as well — those are what we’re seeing from a […]
When an employee with diabetes is working in a safety-sensitive role experiences severely low blood sugar, what are the ramifications for employers? This question was addressed at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference in Toronto in June. “For you, as an employer, what if this was your employee on their way to meet […]
Workplace programs to promote healthy food choices could improve employees’ eating habits, according to a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. A two-year study at the hospital examined the purchasing habits of almost 5,700 employees before and after researchers put in place a “traffic light labeling and choice architecture program.” […]
On June 5, Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference featured educational presentations around trends and treatments in an effort to help plan sponsors and advisors make the best decisions for their plans and members. Here’s what you missed! Behavioural change a key component to managing chronic disease More than 50 per cent of […]