Cannabis prescriptions are eligible medical expense, CRA confirms

We have NOT had much call from clients to add Medical marijuana to their benefit plans, due to the high cost ($1,000-$10,000/year)and possible increased frequency of claims.  Most insurance companies and TPA’s have allowed HSA’s to pay for the claims, and now this has been clarified by the CRA to be eligible and also as a Medical Expense Tax Credit on an employees personal taxes.


The Canada Revenue Agency has confirmed that medical cannabis purchased under prescription is an allowable medical expense at tax time.

The CRA sent a letter to the Canadian Medical Cannabis Industry Association last month confirming cannabis from a licensed producer qualified as a medical expense.

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Webinar – Changes to Ontario Drug Benefit program coverage for children and youth aged 24 years and under

The Ontario Ministry of Heath and Long Term Care is putting on a number of webinars on the changes to OHIP+.  The webinars are WEEKLY on Wednesdays and the info is below.  If you or your staff have children under 25 that may be affected, please join them to find out more.


OHIP+   –   Please join us!

We will be hosting weekly webinars to provide an overview of the redesigned OHIP+ and to answer questions regarding changes to Ontario Drug Benefit program coverage for children and youth aged 24 years and under.  Webinars will be held each week on Wednesdays from 12:15-1:00 pm.

Please join us for the webinar on Wednesday February 27, 2019 from 12:15-1:00 pm. Click on the link below to access the webinar.

https://ali.health.gov.on.ca/ohipplusupdate/

Teleconference information will be available at this link 10 minutes prior to the start of the webinar. Please mute your phone by pressing *6once you have dialed in.

If you do not have the latest version of Adobe installed on your device, please click on the link a few minutes early in the event you are prompted to update your software.

Thank you!

OHIP+

Interested in increasing your benefit offering?

I am a big supporter of the idea that a good benefit plan generally does a good job of attracting and retaining employees.  A fantastic plan design (and the higher costs that go with it) often does no better a job of keeping employees happy.

That said, with Family Day behind us, and after having several recent conversations with clients and associates, I’m wondering if good enough is…well, good enough.  We are seeing a number of changes to health care in Ontario, that may result in less being covered by the province, with more downloading to the residents.  Maybe it’s time to take a second look at things if you are seeing this, or your staff are sharing their challenges.

For that reason, I am sending out this note to say; if you feel that your plan may need a re-look, that staff are asking for more, maybe you are a family business and finding that there are claims that you are incurring but the plan is not covering tax effectively, then it could be time to consider your benefit offering.

The answer may be adding a new benefit such as; disability coverage, or increasing vision or dental benefits to cover the rising costs, or maybe it’s adding a small Health Spending Account (HSA) that gives the flexibility to cover almost any health or dental related claims.

If you’re interested in doing so and would like us to price a change for you now, or at the next renewal, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Email us at;   dave@mainstayinsurance.ca      or call us at; 905-886-9203

ONTARIO EMPLOYERS: TIME TO UPDATE YOUR ESA POSTER

If you are an Ontario Employer, please ensure that you have the right ESA information posted to stay in compliance. An article and link are below.


The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) requires that employers in Ontario display a poster published by the Ministry of Labour. The poster provides information about employee rights and obligations under the ESA and its regulations, and is periodically updated.

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