Welcome to
The Consulting House Online - your one stop shop for benefits' strategies
and information.
With the constant changes brought on by the many levels of government and
the benefits industry our site will help you weed through the changes and
see how they could affect you or your employee benefits’ program. For
more detailed information on any of the following topics contact us at info@consultinghouse.com,
1.877.362.5500 or check out the appropriate links included herein.
NEW – JUNE 2003:
B.C.’s
PharmaCare Changes Could Cost Employers/May 1, 2003 -
The new British Columbia Fair PharmaCare Program, introduced May 1, 2003,
could have significant higher cost implications for plan sponsors.
The two main significant changes are:
Each
B.C. employer must encourage and remind their employees of the
necessity to register immediately.
Otherwise their private carrier
plan may not pay
them the proper drug amounts.
The British Columbia government
claims the new program will reduce drug costs paid by provincial
residents. However, it does not appear that
the same can
be said for employers and other plan sponsors who currently pay
all or part of their members' PharmaCare claims costs.
For
more click here or visit www.hlth.gov.bc.ca/pharme
Saskatchewan Eliminates Drug
Plan Deductible/ July 1, 2002
To provide a consistent level
of benefit coverage to all families
and help hold down the cost of
the provincial drug plan, the
Saskatchewan
Provincial
Government has eliminated the
$850 semi-annual deductible under
its
government drug plan.
Starting
July 1,
2002, families
who need
financial assistance
must apply
to the
Saskatchewan government
drug plan
for special
support. If
a family’s
prescription
drug
costs exceed
3.4 per
cent of
the total
family income,
they will
be eligible
for financial
assistance. For more click here or
visit www.gov.sk.ca.
Ontario’s
Maternity/ September
4, 2001
The
Ontario Government’s September 4, 2001 Employment
Standards Act changes may or may not have been addressed properly by many
employers.
Until September 4, 2001 female employees were eligible for EI maternity benefits and therefore plan sponsors private disability benefits did not have to pay STD and/or LTD for maternity related absence. With this change employers need to decide as to whether to replace the EI completely with their own benefit, or to just top up EI to their existing benefit level. If they choose the later option they will need to set up an SUB plan with EI.
For example
if a plan sponsor pays their employees 100% of their salary for the first
six working days of disability while EI pays 55% after a 2-week
waiting period. Both of these gaps (the lower percentage as well as the starting
points) need to be fixed in order to comply with the new legislation. For
more, click here or
visit www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/guide/index.html.
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