Canadian companies should ask some tough questions and take a closer look at the way their employee drug plans are being managed or risk further benefit cuts, cost increases and even impacts to their own product or service pricing, according to a new white paper authored by Helen Stevenson. Titled An End to Blank Cheques: […]
It’s no secret that drug costs comprise the largest portion of an employer’s group benefits plan expenditures, but what goes into these costs? That was the topic of this year’s GIPC event, Unravelling Drug Pricing, today in Toronto. There’s no getting around it: most new treatments and preventive measures are more expensive, said Mark Ferdinand, […]
Does your plan require prior authorization for specialty drugs? Take our poll and let us know. As the saying goes, “What goes up, must come down.” In the world of drug benefits, the reverse is also true. It speaks to the balance that occurs when forces are applied to a system with multiple moving parts. […]
The new generic drug pricing changes that have taken place across the country have created some evolving implications for plan sponsors. Not only have these changes led to significant pricing discrepancies across Canada, they have impacted preferred provider arrangements between plans and pharmacy providers, and have impacted drugs that were previously unaffected by pricing changes. […]
Generic drugs represent the only component of Canadian healthcare in which costs are decreasing. On March 29, more than 100 plan sponsors, group insurers and consultants met in Toronto to discuss opportunities for generic drugs to increase cost savings for all healthcare stakeholders. The half-day Value of Generic Drugs Symposium, held at the Fairmount Royal […]
Between 1998 and 2008, the most popular topic of conversation in drug plan management was the brave new world of expensive specialty (i.e. biological) drugs. As everybody knows, the fear was that these revolutionary new therapies would hit plans and drive costs to unsustainable levels. The only problem was that during that period, it never […]
Despite the frenzy the legislation for lower generic drugs caused, leading plan sponsors to think it would equate to lower costs for benefits plans, those beliefs were quickly dispelled by industry professionals that pointed out generics are not widely used in drug plans. Suzanne Lepage, private health plan strategist from Kitchener, Ont. pointed out in […]
Suzanne Lepage, private health plan strategist from Kitchener, Ont. presented a thought provoking and education session at the Canadian Health and Wellness Innovations Conference, hosted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans in Las Vegas. Here are some of the key facts and figures from her presentation. For a more in-depth story on this […]
Recent legislative changes affecting the pricing of generic drugs have refocused employer attention on better management of drug plan costs. With the growing number of high-cost drugs in the pipeline, employers will face even greater challenges and the struggle to balance affordability with patient care will be more pronounced. However, by becoming more aware of […]
Drug plan management is certainly in the midst of changing times, from ever-increasing costs to drug reforms and innovations. On Dec. 1, 2010, more than 100 plan sponsors and other healthcare stakeholders met to discuss these and other drug plan management issues at the Toronto Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management Forum presented by Working Well. Generic […]