Human Resources Issues for Senior Management
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/699912
06/CANADIAN HR STRATEGY T here's no question the cost of employer-sponsored drug plans is increasing considerably, if not accelerat- ing — especially when it comes to specialty medica- tions. So, how can employers slow down the spend increases while still offering competitive bene ts packages to employees? A recent roundtable in Toronto, moderated by Sarah Dob- son, editor/supervisor at Canadian HR Reporter, and sponsored by Sun Life Financial, delved into this question and others — while also looking at possible solutions. WHAT'S BEHIND THE INCREASES There are a number of factors behind the growing drug costs, says Atul Goela, director of phar- maceutical bene ts at Sun Life Financial in Toronto. "There's been tremendous in- novation that's been occurring from a drug plan (perspective). If you look at what drugs and types of drugs are coming out to the marketplace, we're in a stage of rapid evolution in the technology that goes into bringing drugs to market," he says. "As a result, the drugs that are coming to market are that much more powerful or effective. We talked about, ve or 10 years ago, having targeted medication. We're also in that area where it is very targeted, precise." It's about targeting at a level where, even in a large population, there are only sub-sets of the population that would bene t from the products. That's the level and the precision that's available in medication as a result of the innovation that's happening in both medicine and technology, says Goela. "And we're in this tremendous upswing of that technology that it's almost sometimes dif cult to see... The example I give is the cellphone. You look at ve years ago what a cellphone could do versus today and what a cellphone can do. The same kind of evolution is happening on the drug side." Diseases that used to be death sentences have become chron- ic diseases, whether it's HIV or cancer, says Tim Clarke, chief innovation of cer, health and bene ts, at Aon Hewitt in Toronto. MEET THE PANELLISTS (FROM LEFT) ATUL GOELA, SUN LIFE FINANCIAL JONATHAN FOURNIER, MERCER JEANNINE QUINN, BRIDGESTONE CANADA TIM CLARKE, AON HEWITT BARB CONWAY, THOMSON REUTERS LEGAL CANADA ALAN KYTE, WILLIS TOWERS WATSON on Drug Plan Costs How can employers balance the added value of health benefits with the ever-increasing costs? By Liz Bernier Getting a Handle PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HRYNIUK