Author: Dave Patriarche

We have been getting questions from employers on the Personal Emergency Leave days in Ontario.  We try and help point to reference material that can help, and some of those questions are answered in this posting from a Toronto employment lawyer.

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Due to…popular demand for more information about Personal Emergency Leave (“PEL”), we have answered the most pressing questions from participants in this update.

Notably, because the changes to PEL are so new, there is very little case law regarding their application. As always, the summary below is not legal advice. Employers should seek legal advice if they are unsure about how the legislation applies to their circumstances.

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This is a 45 minute previously recorded webinar that provides information for employee benefit plan sponsors on the legal perspective, past cases etc. related to Cannabis which will be legalized in mid October this year.

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With the federal government having passed legislation to legalize the possession of recreational marijuana, employers have lots of questions about what it means for them. Watch Benefits Canada’s recent webinar on some of the legal issues for benefits plans with Miller Thomson LLP’s Kim Ozubko.

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If you thought you were alone in being concerned about the upcoming changes… A recent survey shows you are far from alone.

Our last industry seminar touched on the importance of corporate policies on impairment and we have one linked below that was hared with us.

http://www.cgib.ca/linkedpages/Sample%20Workplace%20Substance%20Management%20Policy%20-%20MedReleaf.pdf

The Mainstay HR Resources available to all our clients can also provide info to assist you in establishing practices and policies to protect your employees and firm.

Take a peek.  Call us for details…

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More than half (52 per cent) of Canadian employers said they’re concerned or very concerned about the implications of legalized marijuana on the workplace, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada.

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Each year Sanofi Canada surveys the thoughts and perceptions of both employees and employers across Canada on healthcare and benefit plans in particular.  The survey represents all size businesses, but responses are best from larger organizations so skew that way slightly.  A panel of large employers, consultants, insurers and brokers come together to analyze the results, discuss next steps and provide comments for the report linked below.

Have a read, but take it all with a grain of salt, as smaller firms and their employees often see results contrary to the larger, public and union plans that are also capture here.  Each year I always learn get some interesting insights working with the advisory panel.  I hope the report is useful to you too.

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The Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey has proven to be a valuable tool for health benefit administrators making decisions about the kind of health coverage their plans will provide.

Since 1998, our healthcare survey has monitored the pulse of Canadians with employer-sponsored health benefit plans. We continue to track respondents’ overall satisfaction with the healthcare system as a whole and their own benefit plan, their concerns about their health and the health of their families, and their understanding of certain chronic illnesses.

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A short article to help employers learn a bit more about this topical and highly contentious area of legislative change.

We’ll be covering some of this at my next seminar.  if you are a mainstay client, and would like to attend, please let me know ASAP and I’ll register you at my expense.  http://www.cvent.com/d/fgq043

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Cannabis legalization is coming. The legislation is expected to pass by July with legalization becoming effective by September.  Employers should take notice because:

1. There is already a lot of cannabis in Canada

2. More cannabis to come with legalization

3. Cannabis is addictive

4. Cannabis impairs

5. Operating a motor vehicle – risky

6. The problem of residual impairment – hours to days to weeks

7. Occupational health and safety legislation – the risk to the workplace and to employers

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Well, I thought I’d seen it all in this business.  Provincially we’ve had promises of free drugs, healthcare, dental, and combinations of all three.  Now Federally 9the one really looking at pharmacare seem to be investigating the possibility of taxing health benefits to employee again.  I’m not sure if the goal is to drive employers out of Ontario or Canada, but it sure seems like it some days.  Let’s just concentrate on the nice weather instead!

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While a new report shows that introducing a tax on employer-paid health benefits would add $3.8 billion to the federal government’s coffers in the 2018 tax year, it would also dramatically raise health-care costs for many Canadians…

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An interesting article, mainly because the survey was done by STAPLES (the office supply company).

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Around 80 per cent of Canadian employees surveyed feel their employer has a responsibility to keep them mentally and physically healthy, according to findings from a survey released by Staples Inc.

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I know we often talk about fraud at renewal time, but as I review a mid-year claims report for one of my great long-term clients, I am reminded of how quickly claims can jump up.  Time will tell if this is a case of; higher usage, misuse, abuse or fraud, but thought a good time to provide some links to remind employers to remain vigilant.  Often the “great deals” that staff are offered, make it around the office and can be addressed quickly to protect the plan and avoid having to cut benefits.

Here is an article on the TTC issue as well as an undercover video that shows just how big (and easy) an issue fraud can be.

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Massaging receipts | CBC News
Toronto-area beauty spas are offering esthetic treatments that are paid for through health insurance fraud…

The true story of the fraudsters that fleeced the TTC for $6 million and counting

This is a good, short note on the cost of high cost drugs and the effect that the employees and families claims have on plans.  Amongst our Mainstay clients, we see about 15% of our customers have claims over $10,000 a year

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Representing 20 per cent of claimants, members with high-cost chronic conditions drive almost 80 per cent of plan costs with an average annual drug spending that is 15 times that of other claimants, says the report.

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In December 2017, Benefits Canada invited a group of benefits plan advisors to the Canadian Leadership Council on Drug Plan Partnerships in Toronto to discuss the impact of national pharmacare on the private health benefit industry.  We didn’t have all the answers but did identify more of the issues our industry is facing…

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Canada is one of three developed countries in the world with a universal health-care program that does not include prescription drugs and, as such, medication needs have been met with a patchwork of public and private drug coverage. Although the federal government’s current focus is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, there seems to be renewed discussion on the development of a national pharmacare program. This is likely due to reports by the House of Commons standing committee on health and the parliamentary budget officer on national pharmacare.

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