The prognostications of how long this economic downturn will last are as varied as the number of economists who have dared to venture a guess, but popular opinion suggests that it is going to get worse before it gets better. The Canadian economy from coast to coast has been battening down the hatches—planning for the […]
The boom times of the last decade are clearly behind us—yes we heard you the first time—and the future is unclear. But where there are challenges, there are opportunities and this has never been truer in the benefits industry. Without question, there will be pain associated with job loss, reduced benefits coverage and increased plan […]
Our economic world is changing around us. The optimism of a few short years ago has been replaced with a more negative outlook for the future. The financial markets are in disarray creating significant liquidity issues in many industries. Consumers are simply not buying because of the economic uncertainty. Organizations of all shapes and sizes […]
The cost of prescription drug costs continues to be the topic of much discussion in the private sector as well as the public sector. Costs are going up at rates that far exceed inflation, and everyone is looking for a scapegoat. In Canada, we spend in excess of $20 billion on prescription drugs each year, […]
I recently attended a presentation by an insurer where it posed this question. It was trying to challenge the perception that benefits had become a cost-driven commodity purchase, and that focus on final premium rates and the cost of delivering these benefits (administration and claims settlement expenses) ignored the bigger piece of the pie—the claims […]
There has been a lot of discussion about intergenerational differences in benefit needs and wants. There are now four generations represented in today’s workforce—the traditionalists (born pre-1945) the boomers (born from 1946 to 1964), generation X (born from 1965 to 1979), and now the millennials (born after 1980). Each grew up in a different world—a […]
It is called by various names including health promotion, prevention, health and productivity management and—more simply—wellness. Seriously folks, people can’t even agree on what to call it, let alone put their arms around it and define exactly what it is. So is employee wellness more than a passing fad or perhaps an idea before its […]
The issues surrounding group health and benefit plans are challenging Canadian employers today in ways not seen in the past. Never have the issues seemed more complicated or diverse. Solutions are not easy, nor immediately obvious. As employers, and human resource professionals, we need to deal with the daily pressures at hand, while fixing our […]