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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*
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”
- 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”
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
- 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’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. -
April 2024 eNews
In this issue:
- Competitive – and easy – benefits plans for your small business clients
- Simplifying benefits enrolment for your clients*
- NEW time-off tracking tool from HRdownloads*
- Focus on benefits fraud: Protecting your clients’ plans from abuse*
Competitive – and easy – benefits plans for your small business clients
Supporting your small business clients can be a challenge. It’s tough to find a competitively-priced benefits plan with the features they want. Small business owners may also need more of your time – especially if this is their first benefits plan.
That’s why we created Equitable EZBenefits™, a benefits solution designed with the needs of small businesses in mind. With a range of plan design options and valuable embedded services for plan sponsors and plan members, EZBenefits is available for groups with 2 to 25 employees. And to make things simpler for you, we’ve created an Advisor Concierge Service exclusively for EZBenefits. Whether you have a question about submitting a quote request for a new client or an issue with an in-force client, our Concierge Service is your go-to resource for EZBenefits support.Don’t have any EZBenefits clients yet?
To learn more about EZBenefits, watch our video to learn more or view our brochure.Simplifying benefits enrolment for your clients*
Navigating the benefits enrolment period can be overwhelming – for you, your clients and their employees. It’s difficult to ensure all plan members complete the necessary paperwork before the enrolment deadline.
That’s why we offer our secure Online Plan Member Enrolment tool at no extra cost to plan sponsors. The tool simplifies the onboarding process for your clients and their plan members by eliminating the need for paper enrolment forms.
It also makes enrolment faster and easier for your clients by:- Reducing errors and rework that can occur due to spelling mistakes or missing information on paper forms; and
- Sending automatic enrolment reminders to plan members, resulting in fewer late applicants.
- Enrol in their benefits plan in just minutes from their computer or mobile device;
- Easily enter all their enrolment information, including dependent details, banking information for direct deposit of claim payments and details for coordination of benefits; and
- Designate their beneficiary electronically.
Ready to share our Online Plan Enrolment Tool with your clients? Get them started with these helpful resources:
- Online Plan Member Enrolment Flyer for Plan Administrators
- Online Plan Member Enrolment Quick Reference Guide for Plan Administrators
- Quick Reference Guide for Plan Members
To learn more about how Online Plan Member Enrolment can simplify benefits enrolment for your clients, contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Account Executive.
NEW time-off tracking tool from HRdownloads*
Through our partnership with HRdownloads®, EZBenefits clients now have complimentary access to Timetastic —a time-off tracking tool that can make it easier to manage employee vacation time, sick days and more.
Timetastic integrates seamlessly with HRdownloads and includes a mobile app to help manage time-off requests from any mobile device.
To see Timetastic in action, check out this demo.
EZBenefits also includes other helpful resources and tools from HRdownloads that can make daily human resources tasks easier, including:- A robust, award-winning HR management platform (HRIS);
- HR documents, templates, compliance resources and articles; and
- A live HR advice helpline.
Learn more about accessing HRdownloads.Focus on benefits fraud: protecting your clients’ plans from abuse*
According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), benefits fraud costs insurers and plan sponsors millions of dollars each year, which can lead to increased premium costs.
Resources for your clients
Both plan administrators and plan members play a role in preventing benefits abuse. So, we’ve compiled some resources you can share with your clients to help them understand what benefits fraud is and how to prevent it:- CLHIA’s free 15-minute Protect Your Benefits online course for plan administrators and their members
- CLHIA’s Fraud is Fraud program, including their FAQs on benefits fraud
- Our online guide to benefits abuse
- Tips for plan administrators and plan members to protect their plan
How we’re fighting benefits fraud
Our Investigative Claims Unit (ICU) works to detect and eliminate benefits fraud. We use a variety of investigative techniques, including CLHIA-led industry tools to detect and eliminate benefits fraud:- Joint Provider Fraud Investigation Program: A robust program that allows insurers to collaborate on fraud investigations that affect multiple insurers;
- Data Pooling Program: An initiative that pools data between insurers and uses advanced artificial intelligence to further identify and reduce benefits fraud; and
- Provider Alert Registry: A registry that allows insurers to view the results of other insurers’ anti-fraud investigations into specific practitioners.
- [pdf] Equitable GIF Fund Facts
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February 2023 eNews
Responding to Nova Scotia’s biosimilar switch initiative
We are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Nova Scotia in response to the province’s biosimilar initiative. These changes will help protect your clients’ plans from additional drug costs that may result from this new government policy while providing access to equally safe and effective lower-cost biosimilars.Nova Scotia’s provincial biosimilar initiative
Announced in February 2022, the Nova Scotia Biosimilar Initiative ends coverage of seven biologic drugs for residents enrolled in Pharmacare programs.
Pharmacare patients in the province using these drugs will be required to switch to biosimilar versions of these drugs by February 3, 2023, in order to maintain their Nova Scotia Pharmacare coverage.Equitable Life’s response
To ensure this provincial change doesn’t result in your clients’ plans paying additional and avoidable drug costs, we are changing coverage in Nova Scotia for most biologic drugs included in the provincial initiative.
Beginning June 1, 2023, plan members in the province will no longer be eligible for most originator biologic drugs if they have a condition for which Health Canada has approved a lower cost biosimilar version of the drug.** These plan members will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan.Can my client maintain coverage of these biologic drugs?
Traditional groups who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Nova Scotia plan members can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than April 1, 2023. Advisors with myFlex Benefits clients who wish to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Nova Scotia plan members should speak to their myFlex Sales Manager to confirm their eligibility to opt out of this change.
Groups that choose to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for existing claimants will also maintain coverage for any originator biologics that we subsequently add to our Nova Scotia biosimilar initiative.Will this change impact my clients’ rates?
The rate impact of this change in coverage will be relatively insignificant. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.
If plan sponsors opt out of these changes and maintain coverage for the originator biologics, it may result in a rate increase. Any rate adjustment will be applied at renewal.Communicating this change to plan members
We will inform any affected plan members in April of the need to switch their medications so that they have ample time to change their prescriptions and avoid any interruptions in treatment or coverage.What is the difference between biologics and biosimilars?
Biologics are drugs that are engineered using living organisms like yeast and bacteria. The first version of a biologic developed is known as the “originator” biologic. Biosimilars are highly similar to the drugs they are based on and Health Canada considers them to be equally safe and effective for approved conditions.Questions?
If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
**The list of affected drugs is dynamic and will change as Nova Scotia includes more biologic drugs in its biosimilar initiative, as new biosimilars come onto the market, and as we make changes in drug eligibility.
Changes to New Brunswick drug interchangeability rules
We are introducing changes to help ensure that your clients with voluntary or mandatory generic pricing for their drug plans will benefit more from the cost savings of these two features, regardless of the province where the drugs are dispensed.
Currently, when determining whether a lower-cost alternative is available for a brand-name drug, most insurers only consider drugs that the provincial drug plan identifies as interchangeable.
However, the public drug plan in New Brunswick does not identify a drug as interchangeable if the drug is not listed on its formulary – even if Health Canada has deemed the drug interchangeable.
As a result, plans with mandatory or voluntary generic pricing have continued to reimburse some drugs in New Brunswick based on the cost of the brand-name drug, even if a lower-cost generic alternative is available.
Effective March 20, 2023, if your clients have drug plans with mandatory or voluntary generic pricing, we will adjudicate any drug claims in New Brunswick using the lowest cost alternative that Health Canada approves as bioequivalent. This will occur even if the public drug plan has not identified the drug as interchangeable.
To benefit from this more robust drug plan control, plan sponsors must have mandatory or voluntary generic pricing in place.
For more information about this change or about implementing mandatory or voluntary generic pricing for your clients, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
New template: plan members eligible for additional coverage
Often, based on salary, some plan members may become eligible to apply for extra Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability coverage. If this occurs, your clients receive a notification from Group Benefits Administration. We have now developed a template that your clients can provide to applicable plan members if they become eligible for extra coverage. The template makes it simpler for your clients to pass on these details to their plan members efficiently.
The new template is available for download under the Quick Links section of EquitableHealth.ca. It is a fillable PDF form that your clients can complete and provide to their plan members when necessary. The document is called Over the Non-Evidence Limit for Plan Members Notification.
If you have any questions about the template, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager. -
A New Universal Life Insurance Solution for the 21st Century – Available NOW!
Introducing a new universal life solution built for the 21st century: Equitable Generations™ universal life insurance is available for sale NOW!
Check out our Equitable Generations universal life splash page: www.equitable.ca/ul
Our new Equitable Generations universal life insurance
Equitable Generations is a universal life product that offers investment options that resonate with today’s 21st century client while reducing every fee possible. It also reduces the cost of insurance to help clients maximize their opportunity to purchase coverage and build tax-advantaged wealth.
NEW: EZstartTM Generations
Today we are launching EZstart Generations which is:
- A mobile-optimized tool for advisors
- Designed to start a conversation and provide a possible universal life solution in under one minute
- Goals based - you can see how Equitable Generations™ universal life insurance can perform at different stages of a client’s life.
NEW: SMS
Effective today, September 26, 2022 when you submit an application, you can opt-in to receive text message updates for your new business applications.
That’s a text message when:- The application is received,
- A decision has been made by Equitable Life,
- The policy is ready for delivery, and
- The commissions have been triggered.
Learn more
Find all the exciting details on our virtual launch splash page (www.equitable.ca/ul) and watch our informative videos to get all the information you need to start selling Equitable Generations universal life.
Check out our Equitable Generations universal life splash page: www.equitable.ca/ul
Click on the Marketing Materials tab on EquiNet® for all of our new Equitable Generations marketing materials.Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information.
TM and ® denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
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Lin covers her life, her partner, her home, and business with Equitable’s Term Life insurance
Lin has just opened her new business. Her partner Terri has supported her through it all, managing the bills and the mortgage so Lin can focus on getting her store established. Lin knows they’ve both worked so hard to achieve what they have.
She wants to make sure they’re covered in case anything happens to either of them.
With Equitable Life® Term Insurance, Lin can get affordable life insurance, which covers her and Terri’s current needs but is also flexible enough to change as their needs change.
This video can help you start the conversation with clients about Term insurance. It walks them through the different term options and the value of being able to convert term coverage to a permanent life insurance policy later on. It also details the KINDTM benefits that are currently available with Term insurance.
Plus, check out our Term product page, then click on the Marketing Materials tab for the latest Term marketing materials.
Want to learn more? Reach out to your local wholesaler.
Watch our new Term insurance with Equitable Life of Canada video to learn more. See it on Vimeo or YouTube.
® and ™ denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada. -
Making it easy to do business with us
Online Term illustration now auto-populates the application
We have added a new online illustration for Equitable® Term life insurance illustrations that automatically populates the fields in your Term application.
We’ve designed the online illustration to be intuitive so you can fill in client details with ease.
● Select term plans and coverages of choice, then get an illustration report in minutes.
● You can save your web illustration progress at any time and view it from the online application dashboard.
● We’ve combined the illustration with our online application to make the process seamless. The illustration details you provide will auto-populate in the fields needed to complete the application.
New: You can create a term illustration without logging in to EquiNet.
We are taking another step in the journey towards enhancing the ways we do business.
Check out this update on the new Illustrations page on EquiNet®!
Learn more
Have further questions? Your Equitable Wholesaler is here to help!
® and TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
- [pdf] Pivotal Solutions Fund Facts
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The top five benefits of choosing the 10-pay premium option
As part of our December 2024 Equimax® update, we launched a new guaranteed 10-pay premium option for Equimax Wealth Accumulator®. This option is a great way for clients to fund their life insurance policy.
The top 5 benefits of the 10-pay premium option:
1. Short Payment Period: After just 10 years, the policy will be completely paid-up, and clients won’t have to make any more payments while still having coverage.
2. Growing Cash Value: By completing payments in a shorter time, clients can see their cash value grow faster. They can later access this value through policy loans or cash withdrawals if needed.
3. Level Premiums: The premiums for the 10-pay option stay level over time. This makes it easier for clients to budget.
4. Estate Planning: A fully paid-up life insurance policy can be a great planning tool for clients who want to leave a legacy for their loved ones.
5. Tax Benefits: The cash value in a whole life policy grows tax-deferred, and the death benefit is paid out tax-free to beneficiaries.
To learn more about our Equimax 10 pay premium option, visit our splash page:
Need more information? Contact your local Equitable wholesaler with any questions.
® or TM denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.