Happy Canada Day!
As schools across the province close their doors this week, and children are off for two months, I thought if you are a parent you would need some cheering up so here is a funny reminder of what you signed up for as parent.
Quote of the Month...
"To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone."
- Reba McEntire
I
f you have any comments or concerns, do not hesitate to
email
me.
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UBCM Group Benefits Newsletter
June 2018
We Have New A New Consultant!
We are excited to announce that we have partnered with a new advisor to help us manage the UBCM group benefits plan.
George & Bell, a privately-held corporation based in Vancouver, BC, provides pension, benefits and investment consulting services to sponsors, participants and other stakeholders of pension and benefit plans. They are led by four partners and currently have a total of 25 people on their team.
The partners have all previously worked for large national or international consulting firms and have seen the need in the industry for innovative thinking and a return to the original business model in which their profession started: small, independent, private firms whose success depended entirely on the satisfaction of their clients, not on the growth of their firm, share price, or profit margin.
Mike Greschner, a Partner at G&B, is the lead consultant on our plan. He has worked in the health benefits field for 15 years with a diverse group of clients, including public sector, private sector and multi-employer trusteed plans varying in size from small upstarts to large public entities and international corporations. He is experienced in the design, marketing, implementation and communication of comprehensive group insurance programs. Mike has experience with both traditional and flexible benefit plan designs, including pricing complex arrangements and negotiating plan terms and costs with insurers. Over Mike's career more than half of his time has been spent serving public sector clients and since moving to G&B that percentage has increased.
What Sets the G&B Team Apart:
- Significant municipal experience having worked with more than 40 municipalities in various capacities independently before partnering with UBCM.
- Vast experience in pricing group benefits, negotiating with insurers, collective bargaining support, actuarial valuations, pension and investments in the municipal sector and more broadly in the public sector.
Government Experience:
- In addition to providing comprehensive benefits consulting to municipalities, Mike led the consulting team charged with setting sick and severance liabilities for over 40 municipalities in Western Canada.
- Mike led the benefits consulting team for a Western Canadian provincial government and he has worked with a number of small and mid-sized public sector entities on benefits consulting mandates.
George & Bell has been applying their innovative thinking to groups like UBCM for six years, and they have developed strong trusted relationships with many government entities in Western Canada across their practice areas.
We look forward to the expertise that G&B will bring to our program, and to you as an extension of UBCM.
Managing Benefit Costs Top Priority - Help Point Your Employees to Savings
Managing benefit costs remains employers' top benefit priority with 66 per cent of respondents to Hub International Limited's 'Employee Benefits Barometer 2018: New Research Reveals the Business Value of Strategic Benefits Planning' ranking it as a key 2018 concern.
So it is important to communicate and teach employees how to become smart healthcare consumers. Promoting educated decision-making by employees to utilize price transparency tools can help save on costs. Specifically when it comes to prescription medications, which continue to increase in price by nearly 14% annually. Educating employees about cost-effective options of where to shop can save both the employer and the employee money. See these
resources to share with your employees.
The Province is expanding insulin pump coverage, so any British Columbian requiring one to manage diabetes will have access under PharmaCare.
Some Interesting Statistics!
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information:
- In 2017, it is estimated that drug expenditures accounted for 16.4% of total health spending in Canada.
- Preventable medication-related illness and death in adults costs the Canadian health-care system an estimated $11 billion each year.
- Patients not taking their medications, as directed, are estimated to cost the Canadian health-care system $7 billion to $9 billion each year. Thirteen per cent of B.C. residents have chronic medical conditions of medium or high complexity, and represent 24% of health services.
- Currently, approximately 20% of B.C. residents over 70 years of age are taking at least five medications per day, and 16% are taking 10 or more.
Learn more about the Province's Primary Health-care Strategy here.
Cannabis Questions - Some Answered
The Government of Canada has provided a great website to learn about Cannabis and the legalization process.
With the upcoming legalization of marijuana and concerns about the potential impact in the workplace, employers will need to familiarize themselves with what it means for them. Do you have a workplace policy addressing impairment in the workplace? How do you deal with employees that use marijuana for medical purposes? If you currently allow senior employees to expense alcohol as part of their client entertainment expenses, will you allow the same for legal use of marijuana? The key steps to reducing the impact of impairment on the workplace are to have appropriate mechanisms in place. See
here with a helpful resource.
Free Webinars to Move Your Mental Health Strategy Forward
Canada Mental Health is launching a new webinar series to address emerging policy issues related to mental health and addictions. The shifts we are witnessing in public opinion and policy around mental health are historic.
You can join a webinar that features a range of workplace mental health strategies, which provides valuable insights and lessons. Each one-hour webinar provides participants with practical advice, skills and tools that can be used to support positive change in your workplace. Register for upcoming webinars and access past presentations online.
It's Never Too Late To Give The Gift Of Better Health!
I know Father's Day has passed but its never too late to give the gift of better health so send any man in your life a gift he'll really appreciate and send him this link.
Don't Change Much is an informative website, presented by the Canadian Men's Health Foundation, dedicated to helping Canadian men live healthier lives! It all starts with small changes that in time will make a big difference!
When summer arrives, everyone wants to rush outside and enjoy it to the fullest. Get the most out of your summer by ensuring it's not only fun, but also safe.
Anna-Maria Wijesinghe
Nathan Roeters
Manager, Member & Association Services
Account Executive
Union of BC Municipalities
Pacific Blue Cross
Phone: 604.270.8226 (ext. 111) Phone: 604.419.2412
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