Switching three prescription drugs classes to over-the-counter medications could save Canadians, employers, insurers and the health-care system $1 billion annually, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada. According to the report, the economic value of switching to over-the-counter medications is an estimated $709.9 million for proton pump inhibitors, which treat gastroesophageal […]
A group of Toronto physicians have drafted a list of 125 essential medicines for use in Canada, publishing their findings in the Canadian Medical Association Journal’s online publication CMAJ Open. Provincial formularies that list thousands of medications — the Ontario Drug Benefit formulary lists 3,800 drugs, for example — make it difficult for physicians to […]
Patients with chronic pain and mental-health conditions prefer taking cannabis to prescribed opioid medication, a study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy has found. Researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria tracked more than 250 patients who were being treated for conditions such as chronic pain, mental health and gastrointestinal […]
The federal government should allow each province to decide which health-care services would best serve their populations, a report from the Montreal Economic Institute argues. Ottawa plans to force the provinces to spend a portion of the federal health transfer on specific areas, such as mental-health programs and home-care services. “Health care is an area […]
The medications that cure nearly 90 per cent of hepatitis C patients but come with wallet-busting prices have another downside, a report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in the United States has found. In its quarterly report, it identified 1,582 cases in which direct-acting antiviral drugs for hepatitis C, such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, reactivated […]
When Andrew Martin joined the HR department at Joey Restaurant Group eight years ago, the company hadn’t touched its paper-based, administrative services-only drug plan in many years. Martin was quick to make changes, bringing in a flexible plan, drug cards, generic substitution and copayments based on dispensing fees. Still, he stopped short of reducing the […]
With drug prices on the rise, you’d think employers would be making plenty of changes to save costs for their benefits plans. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. As Barbara Martinez, practice leader for drug benefits solutions at Great-West Life, told Benefits Canada’s Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management Forum last month, 90% of the insurer’s clients hadn’t […]
Employers are divided when it comes to drugs. On the one hand, 90% of participants in Benefits Canada’s 2015 online survey strongly or somewhat agree that it would be worth it to pay for a high-cost drug if it meant their employee continued to be healthy and productive. On the other hand, they want financial […]
What employer doesn’t want more engaged employees and cost savings on their benefit plans? At the Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management Conference in Toronto on Dec. 2, John Law, global director, benefits, and director, total rewards, Canada and Latin Americas for Pitney Bowes Inc., told his company’s experience with revamping its benefits plan. “This is primarily […]
Are plan sponsors aware of the benefits plan challenges they face? Yes and no, according to Benefits Canada’s 2015 online survey of 204 senior benefit decision-makers. The survey revealed that an alarming number of sponsors are unaware of the state of their plans. Sixty-six per cent of those surveyed didn’t know what underwriting arrangement they […]