What Canadians Really Think About Their Health Benefits
Insights from the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey
What do Canadians really think about their workplace health benefits? The 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey takes the pulse of employee health across the country — revealing the gaps, trends, and expectations shaping the future of workplace wellness. Drawing insights from over 1,000 plan members and 500 plan sponsors, the survey offers a clear view of what matters most.
Top insights from the survey:
- Record stress levels: Plan members are experiencing high to extreme daily stress —marking the third consecutive year of elevated stress and the highest level in the past five years.
- Chronic condition disconnect: Plan sponsors continue to underestimate how common chronic diseases are.
- Financial strain: Though most plan members give their overall health top marks, less so for their mental and financial health.
- Knowledge gap persists: Members’ understanding of their coverage is improving but still limited, while sponsors think they’re communicating clearly.
- High expectations: Members want more from employers, from better wellness programs to proactive health support.
- Competitiveness over cost: Sponsors are prioritizing plan competitiveness and member health, rather than cutting costs.
The numbers behind the trends
Completed in February 2025, the Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey shows what employee’s value most in their benefits, how sponsors view their plans, and the growing challenges facing workplace health benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at what the survey found:
How plan members rate their health and wellbeing
- Most plan members (89%) rate their overall health as good to excellent, but mental and financial well-being are slipping. One in four say their financial health is poor.
- Many employees continue to feel stressed, with nearly four in 10 (39%) reporting high to extreme daily stress — especially younger members (18–34), who are also more likely to seek mental health support.
- Access to primary care is another challenge: while most members have a family doctor, 44% of those still feel overdue for a visit.
For more information:
Chronic conditions are more common than sponsors think
- Chronic disease is widespread, with 59% of plan members living with at least one diagnosed condition.
- Mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression (20%) top the list, followed by high cholesterol (14%), hypertension (14%), chronic pain (13%) and arthritis (12%). About one in 10 are dealing with diabetes (10%) or obesity (9%).
- Plan sponsors, however, continue to underestimate the issue, believing only 39% of their workforce has a chronic condition.
Chronic conditions are more common than sponsors think
- Chronic disease is widespread, with 59% of plan members living with at least one diagnosed condition.
- Mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression (20%) top the list, followed by high cholesterol (14%), hypertension (14%), chronic pain (13%) and arthritis (12%). About one in 10 are dealing with diabetes (10%) or obesity (9%).
- Plan sponsors, however, continue to underestimate the issue, believing only 39% of their workforce has a chronic condition.
For more information:
- Health Coaching & Chronic Disease Management
- How to Prevent, Delay and Manage Chronic Disease
- The Business Case for Preventing and Managing Chronic Disease
Medication, counselling, and healthy habits
- Most plan members with a chronic illness are managing it through medication — 61% for physical conditions and 58% for mental health conditions.
- For mental health specifically, members also rely on exercise (37%), professional counselling (36%), stress-management techniques (29%) and healthy eating (28%).
- Nine per cent use counselling or coaching services, such as life coaches or dietitians, to manage their conditions.
- Nearly six in 10 take at least one prescription drug regularly, and one in five take three or more.
For more information:
Are health plans meeting employee needs?
- While 71% of members rated their plan as good or excellent, satisfaction has softened.
- Just over half feel their plan meets their needs.
- Plan sponsors, by contrast, remain enthusiastic, with more than 80% giving their plans top marks — highlighting an ongoing difference in opinion.
Do employees understand their coverage?
- More members say they understand their benefits better. 53% say they understand their plan very well (up from 47% in 2024).
- Still, one in 10 admits they don’t understand their coverage at all.
- Sponsors are increasingly confident in their communication efforts, with 70% saying they explain coverage effectively, up from 58% last year.
Do employees understand their coverage?
- More members say they understand their benefits better. 53% say they understand their plan very well (up from 47% in 2024).
- Still, one in 10 admits they don’t understand their coverage at all.
- Sponsors are increasingly confident in their communication efforts, with 70% saying they explain coverage effectively, up from 58% last year.
Flex plans, disability coverage, and wellness accounts
- Traditional plans remain the norm (60%), while 40% offer flex plans.
- Long-term disability coverage has steadily increased to 53%, and nearly half (47%) of sponsors now provide an employee assistance program.
- Health care spending accounts are on the rise, reaching 47% (up from 40% in 2024). Wellness accounts remain stable at 31%.
For more information:
Wellness support and personalized health
- Workplace culture continues to play a role in health. Nearly three in four (72%) members say their employer supports wellness, though this is down from 76% last year.
- Expectations are high: 84% believe employers should go beyond providing benefits to actively support wellbeing.
- Members are open to personalized health information, with seven in 10 saying they’d accept insights from their insurer based on claims data — the highest since 2018.
- However, fewer are comfortable with employers accessing personal health information, even if it’s for prevention.
Download the Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey report to explore findings in more detail.
Let’s build better benefits together
Connect with your Medavie Blue Cross representative to learn how we are addressing the challenges the survey reveals with innovative solutions.
Posted by Medavie Blue Cross on October 15, 2025
Medavie Blue Cross is a premier all-in-one carrier that provides health, dental, travel, life and disability benefits and administers federal and provincial government-sponsored health programs. Together with Medavie Health Services, we are part of Medavie, a health solutions partner committed to improving the wellbeing of Canadians. We are in the...