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Insights

Get connected. Stay informed.

Welcome to Insights, your go-to centre for the latest news, views and trends around health benefits, with blogs, articles, webinars and more to help keep you in the know!

Medavie Blue Cross personalizes care for plan members

Posted on May 15, 2019
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Webinar: The Importance of Communication in Disability Management

Posted on May 16, 2019
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Drug Trend Report 2019

Posted on March 16, 2019


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Diabetes in the Workplace: Infographic

Posted on April 23, 2019


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Pharmacogenetic testing: A revolutionary new tool in personalized, precision medicine

Posted on May 29, 2019
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Pharmacogenetic testing: A revolutionary new tool in personalized, precision medicine


Hailed as a revolutionary tool in personalized health care, pharmacogenetics studies our body’s ability to respond to certain drug medication treatment, based on our genetic makeup.

Drug Trend Report 2019 (French)


On June 18, join us as Marie-Hélène Dugal, Product Portfolio Manager, Pharmacy Benefit Strategy, converts data analytics into valuable insights that will help you ensure your plans are relevant and viable into the future.

Drug Trend Report 2019 (English)


On June 5 at 10am EST, join us as Chris Goguen, Manager, Pharmacy Benefit Strategy, converts data analytics into valuable insights that will help you ensure your plans are relevant and viable into the future.

Diabetes in the Workplace


Infographic

Drive Your Plans With Data


Derek Weir has the numbers you need to drive your plans with top-level data.

Diabetes in the Workplace:Trends & Solutions Part 2


This is the second in a two-part blog that takes a 360-degree look at diabetes, one of the leading drivers of health benefit spends.

Group Insurance by an Indirect Path


The 30-year file in the Avantages magazine: Discover the viewpoints of our thirty-something colleagues, Pierre Marion (30 years in the industry) and Alexandre Sigouin (30 years old).

Health and Wellness: Where to Start?


In this Avantages magazine article, our colleague Pierre Marion explains the best practices for setting up a successful health and wellness program.

Diabetes in the Workplace: Trends & Solutions


In this blog, we give an overview of the profound impact diabetes is having on the workplace

Fostering a culture of wellness


Medavie Blue Cross has a coveted place in the Hall of Fame of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures.

Building Employee Resilience: A Practical Guide to Creating & Operationalizing Self-Care Strategies for the Workplace


A step-by-step guide to creating a strategy that focuses on total health solutions for the workforce

Disability 360: Top Trends, Tools & Tactics (Part 3/3)


In this blog, we have developed a checklist of features you should look for in an effective disability prevention and management strategy.

Blue Cross will give $160 000 over 4 years to the Dr Clown Foundation


Eric Laberge, President at Medavie Blue Cross, asserts that investing in innovative programs and solutions, like those of the Dr Clown Foundation, makes quality health care more accessible.

Canada’s Health Care System of the Future: Collaborative, Innovative and Transformative


Demographic shifts. Digital health. Big data. Chronic disease. High cost specialty drugs. These are just a few of the mega trends that are disrupting health care and health insurance.

Disability 360: Top Trends, Tools & Tactics (Part 2/3)


In this blog, we share best practices that employers can adopt to reduce risks of illness and injury, contain plan costs and get employees back to work quickly and safely.

The Fine Balance between Access to Medication & Cost Management


The fine balance between access to medication and cost management. The challenge is to figure out how to keep providing people access to medications despite their high cost.

Mental Illness in the Workplace


Infographic

Biosimilars Present New Opportunities for Insurers to Manage Cost


Learn more about the various approaches to consider to manage biosimilars.

Inch By Inch, Make Life A Cinch


How mastering micro skills can change your perspective, your health and your work.

The Cost of Doing Nothing Calculator


The Cost of Doing Nothing Calculator gives employers a benchmark on the tangible and intangible costs, such as presenteeism and disability claims, their company is facing due to high employee stress.

Questions about Medical Cannabis? We’ve got answers


Here are answers to frequently asked questions related to benefit plan coverage for medical cannabis.

Increasing your EFAP ROI: 5 Steps Every Employer Should Take


Would your organization invest in a program that provided a return of $8.70 for every $1.00 invested?

Medavie Blue Cross to deliver industry leading form of integrated virtual psychotherapy


Medavie Blue Cross today announced the launch of an innovative pilot project, in partnership with Medaca Health Group, to give plan members easier online access to expert mental health care.

Proactively identifying people at risk next stage in mental-health awareness


“Employers are going to find ways to identify people at risk and still working and try to get them help before they leave and prevent their absence.”

Addressing Depression in the Workplace


Depression at work: How can businesses deal with it?

Is Self-Care the Future of Health Care?


What is the future of health care? If you ask Dr. Bill Howatt the answer lies in helping Canadians to become equal partners in their health.

Disability 360: Top Trends, Tools & Tactics (Part 1/3)


In this three-part blog, we’ll share best practices and approaches to help employers get the most out of their benefit investment and ensure their employees get the best treatment possible - as soon as possible.

Plan Members Are Increasingly Satisfied with their Health Care Plan


Precise objective + Communication = Value and Employee productivity

The Sanofi Survey Says ...


The results of the 2018 Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey are in and providing valuable insights to design benefit plans for the future.

The evolution of Medavie over the years


Former premier of New Brunswick Bernard Lord became CEO of Medavie last September, during the development of the company’s 2018-2020 strategic plan, which is based on a 10-year vision. Lord says that beyond group insurance, Medavie offers ambulance...

Pressure on health care: Medavie plans to increase partnerships with governments


Medavie’s goal is to deliver care directly to people. “More home visits and more services in the community relieve the burden on emergency rooms and improve patient care. Our program in New Brunswick shows that when possible, patients prefer home...

Inspired by international innovations


“Specialists have told us how many lives have been saved, how many complications have been avoided, thanks to new models. He urges the Canadian industry to open its mind and look at what is happening elsewhere in the world.

6 Signs your Benefit Plan Needs a Refresh


Is your plan informed by trends, driven by data and aligned with your HR philosophy? Here’s why it may be time to hit reset on your benefit plan:

Disability 360: Surveying the Disability Management Landscape


Statistics don’t tell the whole story of why disability management matters to workforce wellness and organizational performance.

How e-patients Hold Key to Future of Health Benefits


As an industry we must adapt our benefits solutions to be more relevant and responsive to today’s reality and to prepare for even greater challenges on the health care horizon. 

Words to Lead by from 2018 Benefits3 Atlantic


Our program of expert panels and presentations, led by some of the brightest minds in the industry, invited us to re-imagine the future of health benefits. Here are just a few of our favourite inspirational quotes from the conference:

Beyond the Pill: A Conversation on Modern Plan Design


Learn powerful ways you can deliver plan value and drive business growth in the midst of constant change.

Drug Plan Trends Report: A snapshot of what’s coming down the pike


Medavie Blue Cross has also seen a significant decline in new patient starts for hepatitis C medications, says Chris Goguen, the insurer’s strategic pharmaceutical partnerships lead in Moncton, N.B. Demand is now one-fifth of the volume it was a...

And What if We Pressed Reset?


“Collective insurance plans as we know them today have evolved at the pace of our needs over the past decades. But do they still meet the expectations of employers and employees?” In this opinion piece in the Advantages magazine Pierre Marion, Market...

Top Benefit Plan Trends: 10 things plan sponsors should know


The following is our list of the Top 10 trends plan sponsors should be aware of in designing benefit plans for today – and tomorrow.

Chronic Disease: Empowering plan members to take charge of their health


There are ways to reduce the incidence of chronic disease, improve health outcomes and optimize drug plan spends. 

Drive Your Plan with Data


Check out some stats to help you create your benefits plan, all organized in an infographic. 

Drug Management


The pace of change in the drug landscape is applying unprecedented cost and complexity pressures on private benefit plans in Canada. So how can plan sponsors manage drug costs effectively and sustainably in this fast-moving, ever-changing...

Managing Chronic Disease


Chronic disease is now the biggest drive of benefit plan costs, affecting 6 in 10 Canadian employees. Presenter Paula Grossman, Senior Health Benefit Specialist for Medavie Blue Cross examines the reasons for this health crisis, the impacts on the...

Benefit Plan Trends in a Rapidly Changing Workforce


Learn about what's driving and shaping our industry and how Medavie Blue Cross’s approach to Extended Health Care Benefits can help you and your clients adjust, adapt & innovate to sustain benefit plans.

Preferred Pharmacy Networks


Discover how our Pharmacy Partners - Preferred Network ensures value for the plan sponsor and plan member by optimizing plan performance, improving health outcomes and delivering savings.

    Our Contributors

    Paula Bio

    Paula Grossman

    Paula is a registered nurse and has been with Medavie Blue Cross for 23 years. She is a senior member of our product development team and responsible for benefit management initiatives for private group and individual health programs. Paula has led...
    Read More

    Derek Weir

    Derek Weir

    Derek Weir leads the team responsible for the development and management of all non-pharmacy products for our group business. He holds a Master of Science degree in Kinesiology. Derek has worked in the areas of organizational health and disability...
    Read More

    Chris Goguen Head Shot May 2015

    Chris Goguen

    Chris joined Medavie Blue Cross in 2015, with 25 years of experience as a senior leader within the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Canada. With the majority of his career focussed on External Affairs, including strategy and relationship...
    Read More

    Caroline Christie Photo

    Carolyn Christie

    Carolyn has been in the group insurance industry for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experience from a variety of areas, including underwriting, sales, service and operations. Carolyn has been with Medavie Blue Cross since 2002, and for the last...
    Read More

    Pierre Marion

    Pierre Marion

    As Regional Vice President, Pierre is responsible for the business development of group insurance plans in Quebec. A seasoned manager, he has led various teams within the organization with passion since 1989. Thanks to his 25+ years of experience in...
    Read More

    Alaina Mac Kenzie 2

    Alaina MacKenzie

    Alaina MacKenzie joined the Corporate Sales team with a mandate to build upon the success the team has generated to date. She brings an intuitive sense of the customer, gained throughout her 25 years of experience in group insurance with a focus on...
    Read More

    Marc Avaria

    Marc Avaria

    Marc has been a senior leader in the Group Benefits industry for more than two decades. In that time, he has led national teams responsible for delivering disability case management services for employers of all sizes and industries. He has also...
    Read More

    Travis Kelly

    Travis Kelly

    In this senior leadership role, he is responsible for a number of disciplines including quality assurance and audit services, rehabilitation services, new business onboarding, sales support and client interface. Travis brings more than 15 years of...
    Read More

    Bernard1

    Bernard Lord

    Bernard Lord became Chief Executive Officer of Medavie in September 2016 to provide strategic leadership to further the company’s mission to improve the wellbeing of Canadians. Prior to this role, he spent eight years on the Board of Medavie and was...
    Read More

    Bill Howatt Photo Feb 262016

    Dr. Bill Howatt

    Dr. Bill Howatt is known as one of Canada’s top experts in mental health issues in the workplace. As a behavioural scientist, Globe and Mail columnist, author, clinician, consultant and speaker, Dr. Howatt is a master at translating cutting-edge...
    Read More

    Jennifer Mac Mullen Lo Rez

    Jennifer MacMullen

    Jennifer rejoined Medavie Blue Cross in 2018. Jennifer has worked to develop various products for our organization, ranging from Attendance Support and Group Assured Access, to the development and launch of My Good Health. A graduate of Mount Allison...
    Read More

    Marie Helen Dugal

    Marie-Hélène Dugal

    Marie-Hélène Dugal has been with Medavie Blue Cross for 15 years. Over the course of her career, she has developed expertise in dental and health claims, benefits management and system coding by working in various departments. Four years ago,...
    Read More

    Anne Marie Smith

    Anne-Marie Smith

    Anne-Marie Smith is the Practice Lead for the Drug Plan Solutions team at Medavie Blue Cross. As a Pharmacist Consultant, she collaborates directly with clients and their benefits consultants on drug plan analysis and trends as well as identifying...
    Read More

    Rebecca Smith

    Rebecca Smith

    Rebecca brings more than 25 years of disability management experience and progressive leadership to her role as Director of Group Life and Disability Services at Medavie Blue Cross. In this senior management position, she is responsible for a number...
    Read More