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Reminder: Deadline to opt out of Alberta biosimilar coverage changes
In November 2020, we announced via eNews that on March 15, 2021, we are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Alberta in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative. These changes will help protect your client’s plans from additional drug costs while still providing access to equally safe and effective biosimilars.

Do my clients need to take any action?

Traditional groups who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Alberta plan members can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than January 15, 2021.

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

Otherwise, no action is required on their part. Plan members taking these biologics will be contacted directly to allow them ample time to change their prescription. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.

Questions?

We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you understand Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact your Equitable Life Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – February 2022 In this issue:

Update: Alberta biosimilar coverage changes*
Preferred Biosimilar Program*
Responding to Quebec’s biosimilar policy*
Dental fee guide updates*
Reminder: Review manual allocations for HCSAs and/or TSAs*
Mental health resources for plan members*

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

Update: Alberta biosimilar coverage changes*
Four originator biologics added to Alberta Biosimilar Initiative

In 2022, Alberta’s provincial drug plan is adding four originator biologics to its Biosimilar Initiative. It has ended or will end provincial coverage of these drugs for some or all conditions, as follows:

Lovenox: Jan. 10, 2022
Humalog: Feb. 1, 2022
NovoRapid: April 1, 2022
Humira: May 1, 2022

Patients 18 and over who are using these drugs for the affected conditions will be required to switch to biosimilar versions of the drugs to maintain coverage under the province’s government drug plan.

How we are responding to protect our clients
To help prevent this change from resulting in additional costs for our clients’ drug plans while still providing plan members with access to safe and effective medications, we will no longer cover these originator biologic drugs for plan members in Alberta.

Effective May 1, 2022, claimants currently taking these drugs will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan.

This is a continuation of the Alberta biosimilar switch program we launched last March, when the province first introduced its Biosimilar Initiative.

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

Groups that opted out of the biologic coverage changes we made last March will automatically be opted out of these coverage changes, as well as any future changes to our Alberta biosimilar switch program. This means that their drug plans will continue to provide coverage to existing claimants for any originator biologics we stop covering as part of our biosimilar program.

Advisors with clients who wish to opt out of our Alberta biosimilar program, or who previously opted out and want to opt back in, should speak to their Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

Communication to plan members
We will be communicating these coverage changes with affected claimants in early March to allow them ample time to change their prescriptions and avoid any interruptions in their treatment or their coverage. Thus far, the transition to biosimilars, has been smooth and continues to be successful.

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 also biologics. 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.

Preferred Biosimilar Program*

As part of our ongoing efforts to help ensure the sustainability of your clients’ drug plans, we continue to engage in strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

We are pleased to announce a partnership to make Hyrimoz our preferred biosimilar for Humira. This partnership will generate additional savings for plan sponsors.

Plan members will still have the choice to use Humira biosimilars other than Hyrimoz. However, in the absence of alternative sources of reimbursement, this may increase their out-of-pocket amount.

The Preferred Biosimilar Program will take effect March 1, 2022 for all new claimants across Canada who start using a Humira biosimilar. It will take effect May 1 for existing claimants in Alberta who switch to a Humira biosimilar, to align with changes to the provincial plan.

Questions?
If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

Responding to Quebec’s biosimilar policy

Last year, the Quebec government announced it is phasing out coverage of biologic drugs. Beginning April 13, 2022, patients in Quebec using originator biologics will be required to switch to the corresponding biosimilar covered on the province’s public plan in order to maintain coverage.

The following populations are excepted from this new policy:

Pregnant women, who should be transitioned to biosimilars in the 12 months after childbirth.
Pediatric patients, who should be transitioned to biosimilars in the 12 months after their 18^th birthdays.
Patients who have experienced two or more therapeutic failures while being treated with a biologic drug for the same chronic disease.

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.

We are actively investigating the impact of this new policy on private drug plans in Quebec. We plan to implement further enhancements to our biosimilar programs in Quebec later this year to help prevent this change from resulting in additional costs for our clients’ drug plans. We will provide more details in the coming months.

Dental fee guide updates

Each year, Provincial and Territorial Dental Associations publish fee guides. Equitable Life uses these guides to help determine the reimbursement limits for dental procedures. For your reference, below is the list of the average dental fee increases for general practitioners that will be used by Equitable Life for 2022.*

Dental fee guide increases over 2021*

Province/Territory	Average Fee Increase
Alberta	3.9%
British Columbia	7.35%
Manitoba	5.79%
New Brunswick	5.9%
Newfoundland and Labrador	5%
Nova Scotia	7.05%
Northwest Territories	3%
Nunavut	3.1%
Ontario	4.75%
Prince Edward Island	4.75%
Quebec	5%
Saskatchewan	5.99%

*Data for all provinces and territories was not available at the time of publication. This chart will be updated on EquitableHealth.ca as more information becomes available.

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.

Mental health resources for plan members*

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, many Canadians are experiencing increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Through our partnership with Homewood Health®, all of our clients and their plan members have access to a number of health and wellness resources designed to provide guidance and support. These resources include a number of webinars which discuss various COVID-19 and mental health-related topics. The webinars are pre-recorded so plan members can stream them at their convenience.

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Mental Health
English webinar
French webinar

COVID-19: Loneliness & Isolation Fatigue - Self-Care Strategies
English webinar
French webinar

COVID-19: Dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder
English webinar
French webinar

Reducing Anxiety & Managing the Transition Back to the Classroom - for Teachers
English webinar
French webinar

COVID-19: Specialized Mental Health Support for Health Care Professionals
English webinar
French webinar

COVID-19: Supporting Children’s Mental Health
English webinar
French webinar

Additional resources, including articles, tools, videos and podcasts, are available at Homeweb.ca/Equitable. Please encourage your clients to share these resources with their plan members.

December 2022 eNews
Update: EI Sickness Benefit Extension confirmed for Dec. 18, 2022*

The federal government confirmed on Nov. 25, 2022, that it is extending the Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits period permanently from 15 weeks to 26 weeks. The change takes effect on Dec. 18, 2022.

Equitable Life will not require or implement any changes to our disability plan designs based on this extension. However, plan sponsors may wish to amend their short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) plans and policies to align with the new 26-week EI period.

If your clients choose to amend their plan design in response to this extension, we have created an overview of how amendments may affect common plan design scenarios. Click here to learn more.

If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

QDIPC updates terms and conditions for 2023*

Every year, the Quebec Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation (QDIPC) reviews the terms and conditions for the high-cost pooling system in the province.

Based on its latest review, QDIPC is revising its pooling levels and fees for 2023 to reflect trends in the volume of claims submitted to the pool, particularly catastrophic claims:

We will apply the new pooling levels and fees to future renewal calculations that involve Quebec plan members.

If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
Let’s talk about Critical Illness insurance, the Equitable way. Having critical illness insurance benefits in an important time of need is so valuable. Get the right critical illness insurance coverage for your clients.

In 2022, we made some significant updates to our EquiLiving® Critical Illness insurance plans to provide better choices and features for clients.

These significant updates included:
● The addition of Acquired Brain Injury as a covered condition
● The addition of 20 pay options allowing more choice when choosing the right plan for your clients
● The removal of the age restriction for juveniles to claim for Loss of Independent Existence

Plus, a Canadian first, the addition of Cloud DX. Cloud DX is a value-added service that provides remote patient monitoring to claimants in addition to the full critical illness benefit paid by Equitable Life®. Cloud DX delivers medical grade hardware directly to the client so that Cloud DX can remotely monitor their vitals to help ensure they are on and stay on the road to recovery.

View our new Critical Illness video on YouTube or Vimeo!

With these updates and more, EquiLiving Critical Illness Insurance is there for clients, not only at time of their claim but also during their recovery. To learn more about Critical Illness insurance, the Equitable way, contact your local wholesaler.

*Cloud DX is a non-contractual benefit and may be withdrawn or changed by Equitable Life® at any time. To be eligible for the Cloud DX offering, a claimant must be age 12 or older and have received payment on or after February 12, 2022 for a covered critical condition benefit under an individual critical illness insurance policy issued by Equitable Life. An early detection benefit payment does not qualify. Equitable Life pays for 6 months of Cloud DX subscription fees. If the claimant wishes to continue the Cloud DX service after 6 months, they will be responsible for the cost.

^®and ^TMdenote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
See why choosing EquiLiving Critical Illness Insurance is the right choice for Ayo’s family
Ayo’s just returned from maternity leave. Her baby David and her husband are the most cherished people in her life.

But a neighbour’s cancer diagnosis leaves her wondering how she can protect her family if a serious illness were to affect them.

Learn why Ayo decided EquiLiving^_® Critical Illness insurance was the right choice for her family.

Watch our new Critical Illness with Equitable Life of Canada video to learn more. View on Vimeo or YouTube.

You can use this video to send to clients before or after meetings to help them understand the benefits of Critical Illness Insurance. Check out our prospecting letter, that you can personalize and send to your clients to tell them about Critical Illness Insurance.

Plus, visit our Critical Illness product page, then click on the Marketing Materials tab for the latest Critical Illness marketing materials.

Need more information? Please contact your local wholesaler.

View on Vimeo or YouTube.

^® and ™ denotes trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
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 KIND^TM benefits that are currently available with Term insurance.

Not sure where to start? Send clients this prospecting letter, which you can personalize specifically for them.
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.
Roll out the red carpet for a refreshed Term! We are pleased to announce that updates to our Term life insurance solution are now live! We believe that Term life insurance can deliver value to clients at every stage of their life journeys. Be it at renewal or at conversion, Term is a flexible and affordable life insurance solution for clients today and into tomorrow.

On February 3^rd, 2024, we refreshed our Term life insurance solution. Some of the existing and new updates with our Term offering include:
●  More targeted, competitive pricing,
●  Benefits re-aligned under the KIND™ program,
●  Yearly renewals. After the initial term of level premiums, Term life insurance will now renew yearly with premiums gradually increasing each year. This will help clients keep their Term protection longer without large premium increases.

With these updates and more, our Term solution doesn’t just “do the job,” it’s what clients want!

Visit our splash page and watch our informative video to learn more and start selling today!

View our Transition Rules for all the details on processing your applications.

We’ve also updated our illustration tool:
● New Desktop illustration software

Want to learn more?
Contact your Equitable wholesaler anytime!

® or ™ denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
Clients looking to add a little balance and diversification to their investment mix?
An Equitable® Guaranteed Interest Account (GIA) may be just the right fit for them. With competitive interest rates, Equitable GIAs may be an ideal solution for clients looking to create a well-diversified and balanced portfolio.

A few reasons to consider Equitable for your GIA business:
- • The GIA advantage – a life insurance contract can provide many estate planning benefits.
- • Advisor rate discretion – advisors can forego up to 40bps of commission for an equal increase in interest rate, making our great rates even better.
- • Step Up Your Wealth Sales program¹ – 100% of GIA net deposits are used to calculate the 0.75% bonus commission earned on net deposits for 2024².
Bookmark this page to check our current rates.

For more information, please contact your Director, Investment Sales.

¹ Equitable reserves the right to alter or terminate this program at any time and without notice.

² All eligible deposits, sales, and redemptions occurring between January 1 and December 31, 2024, will be used to calculate an advisor’s 2024 net deposits. See full Step Up Your Wealth Sales program details for more information.

® denotes a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Date posted: May 9, 2024
Secure your GIA rate with Equitable today! The Bank of Canada (BOC) recently cut its key interest rate for a second time this year to 4.5%. As inflation cools and the BOC hints at more interest rate cuts this year, the time has never been better to secure a Guaranteed Interest Account (GIA) rate.

Equitable’s fresh client-focused approach to guaranteed investing means:
- market leading interest rates¹, with even higher rates available for larger deposits,
- a full suite of available account types including the First Home Savings Account, and
- options to invest up to age 95².
“This is a great opportunity for clients and advisors,” said Cam Crosbie, Executive Vice President of the Savings and Retirement Division at Equitable^®. “These are safe and secure investment solutions with potential for creditor protection, estate planning benefits, and so much more.”

GIAs are simple fixed-income investment products that can provide increased choice and value to a client’s portfolio. Choosing Equitable provides competitive interest rates and protection from market volatility. For more information visit EquiNet^® and don’t forget to register for our interest rate change alert email.

¹ Equitable has made every effort to ensure accuracy of competitive information as of July 22, 2024. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
² Some available term lengths may be limited starting at age 90.
^® or ™ denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada. 

Posted August 15
New! Evidence of Insurability Schedule We are pleased to announce Equitable’s new Evidence of Insurability Schedule. The new schedule applies to all life and critical illness insurance applications signed on or after October 5, 2024.

Here are the benefits to you:

●  New chart is easier to read with more clarity and transparency.
●  ECG and TST are no longer routinely required for Life applicants.
●  Blood and urine requirement is streamlined for Life applicants.
●  Detailed underwriting requirements for higher coverage amounts and mature applicants.

Please refer to the new Evidence of Insurability schedule (Form #1343) for full details.

Equitable^® has the right to ask for more evidence of insurability. We will do this if we feel it is needed to assess the risk.

Key changes – Age and amount requirements

Life applicants:

●  Resting ECG: No longer a routine age and amount requirement. This may still be requested at our underwriter’s discretion.
●  Treadmill ECG: No longer required at any age or amount.
●  Standalone Urine: Standalone urine changed to blood and urine at $100,001 and $500,000 coverage amounts for clients over age 55.
●  Mature Age Focus Interview (MAFI): New for clients aged 75+. As part of the paramedical, we will assess the applicant’s Activities of Daily Living, social activities, and word recall ability.

Life and Critical Illness applicants:

●  For clients aged 70+, evidence is now valid (recent) if completed within the past 6 months. For all other applicants (ages 18-69), there is no change – evidence is valid if completed within the past 12 months.

Financial/Third-party verification

Reminder – this is required for life insurance amounts over $5M. Our underwriting team will be pleased to assist you with this step.

Questions? Please contact your Equitable wholesaler or reach out to our underwriting team.

^® or ^TMdenotes a trademark of the Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.