For generations, benefits have been an essential, and sometimes tricky, fact of Edmonton work life. Particularly health benefits.
By law, mandatory employee benefits include basics like provincial healthcare insurance (AHS), pension (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI), and all Canadian employees are eligible for workers’ compensation, which provides insurance for medical treatment and salary protection for employees who experience workplace injuries or illnesses.
A misleading myth among Canadians is that health care is covered and it’s free.
For a close-to-home example, the focus of Alberta’s public system is traditionally on hospitals, diagnostics and doctors. A perfect example is a broken ankle. It gets X-rayed, diagnosed and fixed, usually in a hospital and at no direct cost to the patient. Any necessary out-patient physiotherapy and other recouperation are usually not covered.
For employers and employees, there are many health care extras and etceteras, adding up to millions and billions of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. The extras impact employers, employees, individuals and families.
“Individuals need coverage for medications, dental, paramedical services, extended health benefits, life insurance and travel insurance, usually not covered or not fully covered under public AHS coverage,” explains Melanie Fuller, director of Wellness at Alberta Blue Cross.
“For many employees in the workplace, who may be otherwise healthy and perhaps not needing medications, paramedical services or extended health services, more and more they are looking for the peace of mind of having private health insurance in place, should they need extra coverage. Today’s employers provide benefits coverage to look after the health and wellness needs of employees and their families. It not only keeps employees healthy and productive, but it is also a valuable part of a company’s comprehensive compensation package, to attract and retain employees.”
Common and supplemental employee benefits like dental, medication coverage and disability insurance are not required by Canadian labor laws.
While AHS is coverage for common and routine health expenses, many employees are catching on that AHS does not cover other medical bills and they rely on their employer, or themselves, to make arrangements for additional, private health insurance. Prescription drugs to treat a chronic or serious health condition. Dental care such as teeth cleanings, braces, dentures and crowns. Vision-care needs such as eye exams and prescription glasses. Emergency travel medical services for travel outside Canada. Physiotherapy. Medical equipment to help with mobility – and more.
The stats and trends are conclusive. The need for additional health care and health care coverage has become a necessity, not an option. In Edmonton, and throughout Canada, private health insurance benefits are an essential aspect of life.
The health care landscape is boosted by a growing number of private clinics for the treatment and therapy for many health issues, from the essential to alternative health care options. The range of services offered by private health care providers is expanding and comprehensive, from primary care services to specialized medical consultations, elective surgeries and advanced diagnostic testing.
For many Edmonton employers, they are private health components of contemporary company benefits.
Health care needs and benefits can also differ based on the medical conditions and Alberta’s changing demographics.
“For example,” Fuller explains, “with the younger demographic, we see more claiming for drugs that treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), versus older demographics where there is more demand for asthma, arthritis, Type 2 medications and other health situations.”
Edmonton employers are expanding health and wellness benefits, not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because the health of employees is proven to impact productivity, absenteeism and morale and is also a potent way to attract and keep valuable employees.
As employer-provided extra benefits grow, formally and informally, there is more and more responsibility for individual employees to accept more responsibility and accountability for their own health.
Formally, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (or equivalent) is based on the internal responsibility system (IRS), requiring that everyone at or associated with the workplace takes responsibility for their own health and safety and the health and safety of those around them.
HR professionals emphasize that personal responsibility includes and goes way beyond the cliched responsibility for eating a healthy diet, being active and avoiding health risks like smoking or consuming excess alcohol.
Some employers, HR policies and supplemental health coverage providers suggest those health factors are basic and the least that employees should be required to do with taking charge of their own, personal health, while employers focus on helping with a new and urgent list of workplace health issues. Like the increasingly common and pervasive workplace incidence of mental health.
Despite physical health workplace stereotypes like heart disease, migraines and contagious problems, according to StatsCan, psychological health problems and illnesses are the number one cause of disability in Canada, and about 30 per cent of short and long-term disability claims in Canada are attributed to mental health problems and illnesses.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, depression and anxiety are only two of many mental health conditions, costing the Canadian economy more than an estimated $49.6 billion per year and unmeasurable business losses due to absenteeism and loss of productivity.
Health and HR experts point out that depression, anxiety and stress disorders are the fastest-growing workplace health issues.
“There’s no doubt about it!” says Jan Chappel, senior technical specialist of Occupational Health and Safety with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). “Workplaces can and do impact workers’ mental health. Companies can inadvertently be a cause of poor mental health, as well as being part of the solution.
“When a person experiences situations such as increased demands without opportunities for control, it can result in physical, psychological and emotional fatigue and increased stress and strain,” Chappel points out.
Additional or private health care includes and extends beyond workplace mental health.
Fuller notes that, “We are seeing many of our employers opt for and offer employees an increase in psychology coverage. There are also more specialty drugs (some costing $10,000 or more per year) for rare conditions like auto-immune bowel disorders or autoimmune arthritic conditions, and treatments and therapies now available for common conditions like migraines and asthma.
“Virtual care which provides 24/7 telemedicine access for physical and mental care needs has become a very desirable benefit, particularly in the Edmonton workplace, helping employees maintain their productivity.”
The bottom line, for employers and employees, is the unavoidable fact of life that the shared responsibility for additional and private health insurance coverage is no longer an extra. It is a workplace basic.
Fuller emphasizes that, “For business leaders, the priorities now include economic uncertainty, attracting and retaining talent, engaging the workforce to support growth, training and talent development, diversity and the environment, social and governance, change management and the growing priority of employee health and wellbeing.”