CANADIAN HR STRATEGY/07
FEATURE/roundtable
"That's phenomenal from a drug treatment perspective. It's
had an unanticipated effect on those who are paying for the
programs in that now you're treating something for many years
as a chronic disease in a very expensive manner in some cases
and differently than you would have in the past," he says.
"That's created a timeline of how long someone will be on a
very expensive therapy that's different now than it was 10 years
ago. It really ows through into something like large-amount
pooling, which has become a huge challenge for many orga-
nizations, whether you're talking about the insurance industry
or about employers. You're now funding treatment for chronic
diseases that can be upwards of $30,000 or $50,000 or $500,000
a year."
DISEASES
THAT USED
TO BE DEATH
SENTENCES
ARE CHRONIC
DISEASES.