Canadian HR Reporter

4 www.hrreporter.com N E W S In addition, some surgeries were delayed because of the lockdowns, so people's situation has worsened as a result of the delayed intervention, says Allen. "With all those things, I think employers are very wisely preparing for the potential for an uptick in short- and long-term disability." On the other hand, when the economy was really in shutdown mode, there were fewer accidents reported, says Carbell. "We've seen a bit of ups and downs in different places, and… many industries are impacted differently." Looking ahead Looking ahead, there are a few newer areas in the benefits realm that could see a boost in activity. For example, there is definitely greater concern about long- term care, says Allen. "There's more interest in programs, insurance programs, savings programs, subsidy programs that support home care," she says. "This is something that's not brand new, but… that's been accelerated as a result of the pandemic, because employees are seeking that." This is a good opportunity for a positive design approach, says Allen. "Think of the best you can do for your people, as opposed to just managing their risk. Think about how you can encourage people to be at their best and to be at their healthiest, and to promote well-being, as opposed to covering crisis expenses." Some employers have also layered on health-spending accounts (HSAs) to the benefits plan, says Gory. "Instead of actually adding on psycho- therapy or what have you, they're saying, 'Hey, let's just add on HSAs and people can use it for psychotherapy or maybe an additional massage because they don't have a great environment at home to work at or maybe psychology, what have you." One employer is even considering adding COVID antibody testing as an eligible category under the wellness portion of their HSA because it's a blood test, he says. Another benefit that's going to be topical is vaccines, as many plans still don't cover these, says MacKay. "It's an investment in not having a short-term disability claim or lost productivity for someone being off with pneumonia or suffering shingles and the long-term effects of shingles. These are just a couple of examples of how plans need to start becoming much more preventative than just reactionary." The average benefit plan costs in excess of $3,000 per employee per year, although they can range anywhere from $800 to $7,000, depending on what's in them, says Houghton. "At an average cost of $3,000 per employee, it is reaching a point where I think it's getting harder to ignore — you really have to spend some time on it," he says. "With 10 employees on an average plan, it's a $30,000 expenditure. So, I think the pandemic probably accelerated that. But I think that's a trend that we've been seeing more and more of." And this is largely influenced by the combined costs of rising disability claims, specialty drugs and paramedicals that are becoming more normalized in society, says Houghton. "In a lot of ways, they provide a lot of value, but it is something that [employers] have to get tight controls on so that it doesn't drive your benefit costs to a point where you can't afford them." And price is driven by claims, while the claims are driven by plan design, he says. "If you really want to fundamentally look at putting good cost containment in, it starts with your plan design and your adjudication practices and that' ll flow through and, typically, be the gift that keeps on giving." CHRR MENTAL HEALTH A BIG CHALLENGE FOR MANY CANADIANS "Employers are very wisely preparing for the potential for an uptick in short- and long-term disability." Paula Allen, Morneau Shepell 56% Percentage of people who say COVID-19 is having a negative impact on their mental health 66% Percentage of people who cite social isolation as the number one reason for their poor mental health 60% Percentage of people with poor mental health who say they are not receiving treatment or social support 22% Percentage of people who aren't receiving support because they can't afford it 17% Percentage of people who aren't receiving support because they don't know where to go or who to ask for help 12% Percentage of people who aren't receiving support because they are embarrassed to ask for help Source: Sun Life More employers might consider putting vaccines on their benefits plans, says one expert.

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