Dear Subscriber,
Happy Canada Day. Many reasons to celebrate. Here are a few that come to mind...
- Canada is 153 years old and never looked so good (we have cleaner air and water than I've seen in years)
- Our COVID numbers are doing much better and improving with ⅔ of Canadians having the 1st shot and 20%+ fully vaccinated.
- Restrictions lifting - Patios are OPEN in Ontario !!! Stage 3 is just over the horizon
- CGIB is over 300 members and still growing
- Sailing season is underway (watch for the calendar opening once we hit stage 3)
Overall, I'm pretty pumped with how things are looking and business has never looked better. Just stick with it and be persistent (not insistent) and sales will come.
As always, if you have questions, just reach out.
Dave |
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OUR EVENTS
CGIB COFFEE CHATS
Coffee chats are like a virtual breakfast. Log in and talk about what's on your mind. Best done from a computer, with a camera and a microphone. No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
Tuesday June 22nd @ 2pm (EST) - notice the 2pm start time & new date Thursday July 8th @ 2pm (EST) Tuesday July 27th @ 2pm (EST) Thursday August 12th @ 2pm (EST)
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CGIB WEBINARS
CGIB Renewal Trends Webinar - Tuesday July 6th, 2020 2 to 3:30pm (EDT). This will be a repeat of the webinar originally on June 7th
Are you looking to track your benefit plan increases and don’t know where to start? This webinar will help you get started.Why? - Provide YOUR benchmark, not the insurers
- Use in negotiations with insurers
- Share with employers at renewal
- Explain inflation to employees
- It identifies you as a professional
How? - Add results to your existing CRM
- Store in a stand alone XL spreadsheet
- Utilize tracking software
What do you track? - Track bottom line? unweighted rate increases
- Do you adjust for plan design changes
- How do you handle HSA’s
- Track by Benefit (pooled vs exper.)?
How do you use it? - Insurers - to negotiate
- Website - to share with clients and prospects
- Newsletter - to share with clients
- Articles - to share with all
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CGIB WEBINARS
CGIB SLACK and Website tour - Thursday July 15th, 2021 - 2:00 to 3:30pm (EDT)
- Are you looking to find out how to use the CGIB Slack?
- Do you know how to subscribe to the 50+ channels?
- Did you know you can text message and video call?
- Do you know how to post messages and share files?
- Do you want to see how to navigate the new CGIB site?
- Looking for the documents, templates and videos on the new site?
- Booking for events (starting this fall) etc.
Learn how to use the CGIB benefits better and more easily.
We will not record this, but WILL create a video to refer to at a later date.
____________________________________________________________ Upcoming CGIB Events: Due to COVID-19 we are holding off launching or re-opening events until closer to the date.
We are holding the dates of Wednesday October 6th, and November 3rd for possible IN-PERSON Toronto seminar dates. Calgary & Vancouver to follow when it's safe to do so.
Watch for details. |
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GET ON SLACK
The CGIB SLACK channel is a great place to pose questions, share info and learn a ton from your fellow members. The info and discussions that are posted there are unlike anywhere in the industry. Sadly, about 25% of CGIB members are still missing out on all the info being shared. Others have not taken a look at all the documents, videos and information available in MEMBERS ONLY to make their life easier.
NOTE TO ALL SLACK USERS: We now have 40+ channels in Slack to handle different topics. Please take a moment to add these channels to your menu. To do so, just click on the + next to Channels on the top left. Browse the channels and then click JOIN to add each of them. By doing so you won’t be missing some really great info. |
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SUGGESTED READING
We think the information contained below is of great value and encourage you to read the articles and check out the events that interest you. In most cases, these articles and events are not run by CGIB, so please contact the organizers for more information. We take no responsibility for the websites, events, organizations or their content. |
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VIRTUAL CARE USE EXPLODES DURING PANDEMIC Before the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, less than 40 per cent of Canadians could get a same day appointment with their physician. In fact, 20 per cent of Canadians has to wait seven days or more to see their doctor, says Dr. Marc Robin, medical director of Dialogue. As well, going to doctor’s appointment represents a time commitment of at least four hours or half a day of work, he told the ‘Why virtual care is the future of health benefits’ session at the ‘Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute’s ‘Forum 2021.’ Prior to the pandemic, approximately four per cent of patient physicians were available through video visit. The acceptance and adoption of virtual care by Canadians now is evident as 74 per cent of Canadians had virtual consultations and the great majority (58 per cent) of those consultations were done through video. Looking ahead, smartphones are part of the future, he said. They provide fast, easy, and timely access to virtual video consultations. Patients can be provided with detailed instructions and follow up to help with navigation of the healthcare system. Virtual platforms offer a “really powerful tool” to integrate many aspects of holistic well-being that could prevent disease in the first place. And the extension of virtual care will be enhanced through remote examination tools like stethoscopes that can be used to listen to the lungs and heart.
VIRTUAL CARE REDUCES BURDEN Virtual healthcare has potential to reduce the burden on the healthcare system and provide benefits to patients and caregivers long after COVID-19 related public health measures roll back, says a Heart & Stroke survey. It found access to virtual healthcare has accelerated over the past 14 months as the pandemic disrupted the healthcare system, allowing patients to stay in touch with healthcare providers and continue progress on their recovery. While this approach to technology is not new, the pandemic has accelerated its use, for example in under-utilized areas such as prevention and rehabilitation. The survey shows more than half of people living with stroke, heart disease, or vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and their caregivers want the option for virtual appointments in the future, beyond COVID-19 – an increase from a similar survey carried out a year prior. The survey found virtual appointments were most often the only option offered during the pandemic and the number of people who participated in virtual appointments increased during the past year from about five in 10 people attending a virtual appointment at the beginning of the pandemic to about eight in 10 in spring 2021. ” Dr. Patrice Lindsay, director, health systems change, at Heart & Stroke, says, “Virtual care is meant to complement, not replace, in-person visits. But virtual healthcare has enormous potential to provide quality care for people living with stroke or heart conditions as well as reduce the burden on the healthcare system from prevention to acute care, disease management, rehabilitation, and end-of-life care.” Research has shown that a virtual healthcare diagnosis can be up to 91 per cent accurate across a wide range of conditions. As well, virtual healthcare can improve management for patients with heart failure, chronic coronary artery disease, and other chronic conditions.
VACCINE SAVES MONEY When talking about the cost of vaccine, the cost of not being vaccinated must also be remembered, said Dr. Vivien Brown, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and vice-president of the North America, Medical Women’s International Association. In the ‘Vaccination in the workplace, everything you need to know!’ session at the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute’s ‘Forum 2021’ with Brad Proctor, office lead and partner, McInnes Cooper LLP, she said the government actually saves $45 for every dollar spent on vaccines because it keeps people out of hospital. “The most expensive thing a doctor can do is to tell somebody to go to emergency,” as admission to a hospital is huge dollars for the government. “So when we look at immunization, we actually save money when we immunize the general public,” she said. The factors considered when looking at individual immunization decisions include occupational risks and consequences of disease. “For example with influenza, when one person in the office gets sick it very quickly spreads to everybody else. The question is about lost productivity preventing disease and its complications, and the protection of others including patients, co-workers, and family. Proctor said employers considering vaccination policies need to look at a non-disciplinary approach which has to be balanced. Options and alternatives for those who refuse to vaccinate must be considered. While only a handful of employees will refuse to vaccinate, their reasons for doing so may be legitimate. “Some will simply have a preference for why they don’t wish to vaccinate. Some might have a legitimate medical condition or legitimate cultural or religious condition and all of those things you need to take into consideration,” he said. In his experience, policies that aren’t balanced, that are going to autocratic and simply mandate rules, are often subject to challenge and subject to failure.
COVID SAW DECLINES IN CLAIMS From the end of March into April and May, and then coming out of 2020, there was a huge decline in some portions of the medical claims, says Sandra Ventin, associate vice-president, benefits and health, at Gallagher Canada. In the ‘What We’ve Learned, COVID-19 and its Impact on Claims’ session at the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute’s ‘Forum 2021,’ she said this was not seen in prescription drugs, but in areas like vision care, dental, and paramedical procedures due to the temporary closures of their offices. However, these trends are reversing themselves and the 2020 claim pattern is not presenting itself in the first five months of data for 2021. One thing they have found is, unfortunately, “as we’re going through this pandemic, people were becoming very sick,” she said, because they were not being treated in “that preventative health space.” So there has been increases in prescription drug claims. Emerging out of COVID, paramedical claiming has increased due, in part, to pent up demand and with providers reminding plan members to use up claims dollars by the end of the year if they could, for example, get a massage with a mask on in ventilated facilities Vision care was temporarily down, but this is for often a 24-month rolling benefit so it’s “really just a matter of a catch up period of when you can go and see your optometrist, get your prescription renewed, and then go and get some prescription eyewear or contact lenses reordered,” she said. Interestingly, hospital claims were down because non-essential hospital visits have been shut down because beds in hospitals were taken over by intensive care to treat COVID patients. However, someone who was six months away from non-life threatening surgeries like hip or knee replacement could end up waiting for close to three years. |
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I got a marketing letter from a colleague yesterday. Not a sales pitch, just an update on what they were up to. I was delighted to discover that this mass mailing had a hand-lettered address on it, with little bits of water color for fun. It was slightly irregularly shaped, requiring an extra stamp because it wasn’t machinable. Inside, in addition to a personal (and personalized) note, there was a gift card for an ice cream cone. But the coolest part was that the card wasn’t from a national chain, it was from the local place down the street. It obviously cost more in time to create than it was going to take me to read. It obviously didn’t go to a lot of people. And that imbalance is now rare. People eager to hustle are busy spamming lists of millions of people with an email that takes two minutes to write and poorly mail merge, giving the hustler a 2,000 to 1 advantage in time spent vs. time consumed. It’s a form of leverage that feels like theft to the recipient, because our time, the irreplaceable thing we all are given, was taken. Of course, I don’t need an ice cream cone, and a small gift card isn’t a bribe. What it represents is care and respect. The opposite of hustle. It was done with sprezzatura, not with a transaction in mind. None of it works unless you’ve already earned permission. It doesn’t work if it’s part of a clever hustle. It doesn’t work if it’s seen as spam or creates uncomfortable tension or a need for reciprocity. It simply works because it required a surcharge. Instead of using an asset, you can choose to build one. [And yes, this is exactly the opposite of the way my bank answers the phone, the way most customer service is grudgingly offered, the way many publicists do their job, the way that organizations make foolish choices about attention and trust…] The question shouldn’t be, “does it scale?” Instead, it might be, “is it worth it?” Interactions with the people who are enrolled and giving you the benefit of the doubt are a form of avocado time. They shouldn’t be optimized for efficiency or even leverage. Instead, it’s a chance to make a difference.
My Take on Seths Post
I think this is really... |
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EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
ONLINE CE CREDITS
Looking for benefits dedicated online CE courses? Want to provide your admin and support staff with basic knowledge? Want to dig into something more detailed for your benefits/insurance business? Business Career College (BCC) has an extensive catalogue of online CE courses with a number of group benefits specific courses covering topics ranging from contractual concerns, plan designs, and underwriting requirements, to product specifics and integration with government benefits. Courses consist of narrated videos with short, online quizzes. The full catalogue includes over 60 courses, podcasts, and videos covering topics from the world of insurance, investments, financial planning, taxation, and ethics with a focus on technical content and real-world application. Courses are accredited for the maximum categories of credits and can include provincial Life and A&S credits, FP Canada, Advocis, and more! Use code CGIB on registration for your first three months free! |
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VISION CARE PLANS EXAMINED Dr. Aaron Patel, an optometrist and chair of the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO) insurance industry working group will provide insights into best practices in optometry, fraud prevention techniques, and designing a vision care plan to reduce the risk of fraud the Canadian Association of Optometrists and Connex Health Consulting ‘Keeping An Eye on Fraud’ session. It takes place July 6. Information is at https://www.connexhc.com/product/keeping-an-eye-on-fraud/?mc_cid=a8def76d7e&mc_eid=7e402198d2
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CADTH COVID-19 Webinar - An Update on COVID-19 Vaccines
Since the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in Canada on December 9, 2020, the vaccine rollout has moved extremely quickly. More than 60% of Canadians have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet questions and uncertainty remain. How well do the vaccines currently available protect against the COVID variants? Is herd immunity achievable? Are vaccines the answer to the pandemic? Our expert panel will cut through the uncertainty with direct answers to these and other important questions.
Panel: Kaili Levesque, Vice-President, Policy, Liaison and Coordination, PHAC and ADM, Medical Countermeasures and Research, Health Canada COVID-19 Task Force Dr. Dion Neame, North American Senior Medical Expert, Vaccines, Sanofi Dr. Alexander Wong, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan Heather Logan, Executive Strategy Lead, CADTH (moderator) Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
To participate, please register (there is no cost). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the webinar.
Feel free to distribute this invitation within your networks. We sincerely hope that you and your colleagues can join us. If you have any questions about the lecture or how to register, please contact us at events@cadth.ca Register Now _________________________________________________________
The changing benefits landscape will be examined at Oak House Benefits’ ‘EvOak.’ Featured speakers include Sam Mikail, director of mental health solutions at Sun Life; Barbara Martinez, national practice leader, drug solutions, at Canada Life; and Elliot Stone, co-founder and CEO at ALAViDA. The half-day conference will explore topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion; mental health; disability; and emerging drug trends. It takes place July 8. Information is at ____________________________________________________________ CONFERENCE EXAMINES FRAUD The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ ‘Fraud Prevention Institute for Employee Benefit Plans’ virtual conference will provide strategies for preventing and detecting fraud in benefit plans and how to keep plan assets protected, deter data breaches, and implement strong internal controls and risk prevention measures. It takes place July 19 to 21. Information is at |
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Need help? Have questions? Looking for something?
Reach out to CGIB - Dave Patriarche - dave@cgib.ca - 905-886-9203 |
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