Year: 2018

My association (Canadian Group Insurance Brokers – CGIB.CA) is holding a seminar for brokers, insurers and employers on Wednesday February 28th from 8 am until noon in Vaughan.  Tickets are $175 but FREE to Mainstay clients.  We have a limited number of seats available, so if you are interested in attending, please send me an e-mail before THIS Friday at 5pm to hold a spot.  Details are below…

Employees are asking employers questions when; a claim is not paid, a generic drugs is substituted for brand, Prior Authorization questions are asked, there are delays in dispensing their drugs, or they are told that drugs will only be paid for and dispensed by certain pharmacies.

Clients are often faced with an employee that says “you can’t make me take these pills, or tell me where to shop”. We’ll help provide you with the right answer to share that will help to deal with those conversations quickly and efficiently.  The presentations also cover; navigating the “system” to help support staff, identifying tools that are available to assist employees, as well as patient support programs that can improve health outcomes.

Information and directions are below.  But let us know if you’re interested, and we’ll book a spot at no charge to you.

http://www.cvent.com/d/9tqdw7

Proposed guidelines on compensation disclosure in group benefits has received short shrift from a national brokers group. Members of the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB) claim the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s (CLHIA) consultation process has neglected their views. Earlier this month, CLHIA head Stephen Frank announced that Guideline G19 – Compensation Disclosure in Group Benefits and Group Retirement Services – would be held back until January 1, 2019. This, he explained, would provide insurers more time to properly engage with advisors and brokers. According to CGIB head Dave Patriarche, however, this isn’t the case, and brokers have been largely left out of any real decision making.

We have had some feedback from clients (very few) that their employees with dependent children age 24 and under are having issues with the new OHIP+ program.  This issue is caused when someone under age 25 is using what is called an EAP drug.  In the past, these drugs would normally be covered by the private employer benefit plan. The province is now covering this with OHIP+ as of January 1st, 2018.  This means that the private plans will NOT pay for these drugs until the province has declined coverage.

There is more information on the provincial website link below, as well as the list of the over 1000 EAP Drug ID Numbers (DINS) that need special application forms completed…

http://health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/drugs/eap_criteria.aspx

http://health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/drugs/docs/eap_dins_list.xlsx

Since Ontario rolled out its new pharmacare program for youth on Jan. 1, multiple media reports have detailed the challenges faced by some people in transitioning to public drug coverage from their private plan.

Employers will see private drug plan costs rise by about six per cent annually over the next five years, according to a prediction by a health-care research company.

Brad Millson, principal of health access and outcomes at IQVIA, presented the results of his firm’s 2017-21 forecast, produced in partnership with Innovative Medicines Canada, at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management forum on Dec. 14.

Close on the heels of the sweeping changes brought about by Bill 148, the Ontario government has enacted another set of changes to Ontario’s employment laws. Bill 177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017, is omnibus legislation that affects a number of Ontario statutes, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), as well as transitional updates to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA).

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