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A Message From Selectpath
As your employee benefit and group retirement advisor, we at Selectpath strive to provide our clients timely and useful information surrounding the ongoing governance and strategic planning associated with your employer sponsored plans. We want to hear from you! Tell us if you find these articles useful and applicable to your planning needs. Would you like more legislative updates? Would you like more opinion pieces? Email us at info@selectpath.ca.
Dental Hygienists in Ontario May Now Work Independently of Dentists
Bill 171, the Health System Improvements Act, 2007, introduced many changes to healthcare services in Ontario. Effective September 1, 2007, legislation was passed to allow dental hygienists to initiate certain procedures like scaling or root planning (SRP) independent of a dentist when the patient does not have medical contradictions (e.g. medical conditions requiring antibiotics prior to SRP, unstable health conditions etc.)
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ODB Stops Paying for 30+ Antibiotic Generic Products
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has announced that the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) will no longer pay for more than 3O highly utilized antibiotic generic products.
On January 1, 2008, generic manufacturers raised their prices by 20% to 90% for five classes of antibiotics, including Amoxicillin, Penicillin V, Cephalixin, Cloxacillin and Cefaclor.
In response to the significant price increases, the ODS Program changed the benefit status of more than 30 highly utilized, first line antibiotic generic products from "general benefit" to "not-a-benefit."
A drug classified as "not-a-benefit" is not paid for by the ODB, but is still listed on the ODB formulary and considered eligible for inter-changeability with other listed products.
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Employers Offer Incentives for Healthy Behaviour
With continuing pressure to control healthcare costs, more U.S. companies plan to offer financial incentives to reward workers who adopt healthy lifestyles, says a survey by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health. Nearly half (46 per cent) of employers surveyed currently offer financial incentives to encourage workers to monitor and improve their health or plan to offer incentives next year.
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2008 EI and CPP/QPP Premiums are Released
Canadian employers and their employees will pay lower Employment Insurance Premiums in 2008, and there will be no increase in CPP/QPP contribution levels.
Employment Insurance
As of January 1, 2008, the employee EI contribution rate per $100 of insurable earnings will be adjusted to $1.73, a reduction of seven cents from its current level of $1.80. The corresponding employer rate will be adjusted to $2.42, a reduction of 10 cents from its current level of $2.52.
The 2008 EI rate will decline 3.9% from the 2007 rate and this is the fourteenth consecutive rate reduction since 1994, when the employee rate was $3.07.
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Are You Covering Both Angles?
Canadian healthcare costs continue to rise, and there is no indication that trend will change. A recent study conducted by the McKinsey & Company on behalf of Sun Life Financial reports that if left unchecked healthcare spending will reach 17.3% of Canada's gross domestic product in 2025 (was 9.9% in 2005). This will result in healthcare expenditures exceeding 50% in Provincial budgets which many insiders say is the maximum government would be willing to spend. In an effort to curb public healthcare spending, governments will likely continue to shift an even greater share of cost to the private sector. At the same time, employee absenteeism and presenteeism costs are expected to continue rising beyond a level that is affordable to plan sponsors.
These facts present two key areas of focus for organizations to manage their workforce healthcare costs.
- Supply Management: How—and how much—should plan sponsors facilitate access to healthcare services for their plan members?
- Demand Management: What role should plan sponsors play in promoting health improvement, to prevent and control the health risks that are driving healthcare costs and disability absence costs?
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No communication, article, information or advice on this web site constitutes or implies in any way a solicitation of business. Please remember that while strategies outlined within this newsletter may be appropriate for some employers, you should always consult a benefits specialist to determine if they are appropriate for your company.
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