Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – November 2021

In this issue:

Deadline to opt out of New Brunswick biosimilar program*
Web Reports Quick Reference Guide now available for plan administrators*
Reminder: Review manual allocations for HCSAs and/or TSAs*
Help your clients take advantage of our convenient digital options*

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

Reminder: Deadline to opt out of New Brunswick biosimilar program*

Earlier this year, we announced via eNews that on Feb. 1, 2022, we are ending coverage for some originator biologic drugs in New Brunswick in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative.* These changes will help protect your clients’ plans from additional drug costs while still providing access to equally safe and effective biosimilars.

Do my clients need to take any action?
No action is required if employers want to have the originator biologics excluded from their plan. Plan members taking these targeted originator biologics will be contacted directly to allow them ample time to transition to the biosimilar. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.

All groups, except myFlex clients, who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for existing claimants in New Brunswick can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than Nov. 30, 2021.

Advisors with myFlex Benefits clients who wish to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for New Brunswick plan members should speak to their myFlex Sales Manager to confirm their eligibility to opt out of this change.

Groups that opt out of this change are also opting out of any future changes to our New Brunswick biosimilar initiative. This means that their drug plans will continue to cover any additional originator biologics for which we subsequently end coverage as part of the biosimilar program.

Questions?
If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact your Equitable Life Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

* The list of affected drugs or conditions is dynamic and may change.

Web Reports Quick Reference Guide now available for plan administrators

A Web Reports Quick Reference Guide is now available for plan administrators on EquitableHealth.ca. This new guide offers a listing of our newest reports available on the plan administrator web. It also provides instructions for plan administrators outlining how to pull the report using the plan administrator portal.

The guide is available under the Quick Links section on both the advisor and plan administrator portals on EquitableHealth.ca.

Reminder: Review manual allocations for HCSAs and/or TSAs*

If your client’s Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) and/or Taxable Spending Account (TSA) has manual allocations, they need to allocate these amounts to plan members each year. Please review all your plan members’ profiles on EquitableHealth.ca to ensure they have received their allocation(s) for the current benefit year.

If your clients have Plan Administrator update access on EquitableHealth.ca, they can update these amounts online by doing the following:

Select “View certificate”
Select “Health Care Spending Account” or “Taxable Spending Account”
Select “Update Allocation” in Task Center
Enter amount in “Revised Allocation Amount”
Override Reason – “Plan Administrator Request”
Select “Save”

If your clients have Plan Administrator reporting access on EquitableHealth.ca, they can determine which plan members have a zero allocation by running the “HCSA Totals by Plan Member” report online by doing the following:

Select “Reports”
Select “New”
Select “Next”
Select “HCSA” or “TSA Totals by Plan Member”
Select “Next”
Enter end date of “12/31/2020”
Select “Next”
Select “Finish”
View “Report”

To provide us with the amounts to be updated, please have your client contact our Group Benefits Administration Team at GroupBenefitsAdmin@equitable.ca.

Help your clients take advantage of our convenient digital options*

We have several digital options available to make it easier for your clients to do business with us and for their plan members to access and use their benefits plan. Over 71% of plan administrators are managing their plan online and 78% of plan members are already using our digital tools.

For plan administrators:

Online Plan Member Enrolment tool – allows all groups to add new plan members without the need for paper forms

Plan Administrator Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan administrators can easily manage their plan anytime and anywhere
Digital Welcome Kits – personalized welcome kits are delivered to plan members via email
Easy automated payments – plan administrators can avoid missed payments by setting up pre-authorized debit or electronic funds transfer

For plan members:

Plan Member Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan members get secure, 24/7 access to their claims history, coverage details and health and wellness resources
Electronic Claim Payments and Notifications – plan members can get claim updates sooner in their email inbox and payments right into their bank account
EZClaim Mobile App – submitting claims from a mobile device is fast, easy and secure
Digital Benefits Cards – plan members no longer have to dig through their wallet – they can download their benefits card on their mobile device

We can help
We’ve created a brochure and a video guide to help plan members access and use their digital resources. For further assistance, plan members can visit www.equitable.ca/go/digital. They can also contact our Web Services team at 1.800.265.4556 ext. 283 or groupbenefitsadmin@equitable.ca.