Site Search

795 results for check site now MAKEMUR.COM Buying early release from jail with payment plans

Have you heard about Equitable Client Access?
Equitable Client Access^® allows clients to self-serve on some of the more popular requests. Thousands of clients have already signed up for Equitable Client Access and are enjoying the benefits of accessing their secure information 24/7.

•   Does your client need to change or stop existing Pre-Authorized payment (PAD)? Equitable Client Access can do that.
•   Does your client need to change a withdrawal date for a PAD? Equitable Client Access can do that too.
•   Address or banking information changes? Equitable Client Access has your clients covered.
•   Does your client need to change her beneficiary from Aunt Flora to Uncle Ned? Equitable Client Access can even do that.

Equitable Client Access is a secure online client site that connects clients with policy information, right at their fingertips. In addition to the self-serve features, Equitable Client Access can also provide:

•    Insurance coverage and guarantees
•    Investment allocation, performance and market values
•    Transaction history
•    Statements and letters
•    Advisor contact information, along with so much more.

If your clients have not signed up for Equitable Client Access, direct them to client.equitable.ca - it only takes a few minutes to set up an account, and connects your clients with their policy information online – anytime!

Have a question about Equitable Client Access? Want to tell your client how to go paperless? Check out our updated FAQ or contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager today.

February 2020 Advisor eNews

In this issue:

Provincial biosimilar update
Legislative changes for Alberta’s Coverage for Seniors program
Coming soon: enhancements to Equitable EZClaim® Online

Provincial biosimilar update

Alberta Biosimilar Initiative

On December 12, 2019, the Alberta government introduced the launch of the Alberta Biosimilar Initiative. This program will require patients using several originator biologic drugs to switch to a biosimilar, and patients using a non-biologic complex drug (NBCD) to switch to its subsequent entry version before July 1, 2020 in order to maintain coverage.

Biologics are drugs that are engineered using living organisms like yeast and bacteria. The first version of a biologic developed is also known as the “originator” drug. Biosimilars are highly similar to the originator drug they are based on and have been shown to have no clinically meaningful differences in safety or efficacy.

Alberta Health will initially cover both the originator and biosimilar or subsequent entry version of a NBCD drug as patients start the switching process.

The following table outlines the affected originator drugs, their biosimilars or subsequent entry, and the conditions affected by the program.

Biosimilar Drug	Originator	Biosimilar/Subsequent Entry	Indications Affected
etanercept	Enbrel	Brenzys	Ankylosing Spondylitis Rheumatoid Arthritis
etanercept	Enbrel	Erelzi	Ankylosing Spondylitis Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis
infliximab	Remicade	Inflectra Renflexis	Ankylosing Spondylitis Plaque Psoriasis Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Crohn’s Disease Ulcerative Colitis
insulin glargine	Lantus	Basaglar	Diabetes (Type 1 and 2)
Filgrastim	Neupogen	Grastofil	Neutropenia
pegfilgrastim	Neulasta	Lapelga	Neutropenia
glatiramer*	Copaxone	Glatect	Multiple Sclerosis

*Glatiramer is a non-biologic complex drug where the originator is Copaxone and the subsequent entry is Glatect.

Equitable Life is actively investigating the benefit, risk and appropriate plan changes associated with this new policy on private drug plans and will keep you informed.

For more information about the Alberta Biosimilars Initiative, consult the Alberta government website.

British Columbia

In 2019, BC Pharmacare introduced a Biosimilars Policy that impacted coverage of three biologic drugs – Remicade, Enbrel and Lantus. As of November 25, 2019, these drugs were no longer eligible in BC for most conditions for which lower cost biosimilar versions are available. Patients in the province with these conditions were required to switch to biosimilar versions of these drugs in order to maintain their coverage.

The second phase of the BC Biosimilar Policy takes effect March 6, 2020 when Remicade will be delisted for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Patients in the province with these conditions will be required to switch to Inflectra or Renflexis in order to maintain their coverage.

Biosimilar Drug	Originator	Biosimilar	Indications Affected
infliximab	Remicade	Inflectra Renflexis	Crohn’s Disease Ulcerative Colitis

We have communicated with the affected plan members, informing them of the need to switch medications. If plan members have any questions or concerns, our Customer Care team is here to help and support them through the transition.

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

Ontario

In November 2019 Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliot indicated that the government was planning to launch consultations to explore solutions in managing biologics.

Equitable Life will continue to monitor these developments and keep you informed of any impact on private drug plans.

Legislative changes for Alberta’s Coverage for Seniors program

The government of Alberta has announced that as of March 1, 2020, seniors’ family members (such as spouses and dependents) who are younger than 65 will no longer be covered by the provincial Coverage for Seniors program. Albertans 65 years of age and older will continue to be covered under the provincial plan.

Equitable Life plan members and their dependents will continue to be covered under the parameters of their group benefits plan.

For more information, please see the Alberta Seniors Health Benefits website.

Coming soon: enhancements to Equitable EZClaim^® Online

Faster vision claims processing and payment

Equitable Life will soon provide real-time processing of vision claims submitted via EZClaim Online.

This means plan members will be able to find out the status of their vision claim almost instantaneously. And, for approved claims, they will receive payment even sooner – often in as little as 24 hours.

In order to allow for instantaneous processing and faster payment, plan members will be prompted to enter some additional information including the practitioner’s name, the date of the expense, the type of expense and amount of the expense when submitting their claims for these services.

Equitable Life plan members can submit all vision claims via EZClaim, including coordination of benefits and Health Care Spending Account claims.

This enhancement will be coming to our EZClaim Mobile app in the coming months.

New printable claims extract

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve customer experience for plan members, we will also offer a claims extract in a printable format within the plan member site. Plan members will be able to select a date range and claimant, then generate and download a detailed list of health and dental claims. This is a helpful way to keep track of claims, especially when reviewing them in preparation for income tax filing.

Once these enhancements are live you will be notified in an eNews, and an announcement will be posted on the plan member section of EquitableHealth.ca.

Elimination of Out-of-Country Travellers Program in Ontario

Effective January 1, 2020, the Ontario government eliminated OHIP coverage for emergency services for Ontarians travelling outside of Canada.

Previously, the Out-of-Country Travelers Program provided some reimbursement for services required to treat conditions that are acute, unexpected, arose outside Canada and require immediate treatment. The program covered between $200 and $400 per day for inpatient services and $50 per day for outpatient and doctor services.

For groups who have out-of-country coverage from Allianz, this change will not impact the cost to your plan members, or the process plan members follow in the event of an emergency while travelling.

Plan members should still call Allianz in the event of an out of country emergency. Allianz will deal with their claim as usual and will now pay for the portion of the claim previously paid by OHIP. Plan members will not have any additional out-of-pocket costs.

We will be sharing this information with plan members as a news item on our plan member website, equitablehealth.ca.

Wrapping up 2025 with our new term rates!
Among the most competitive in the market
Equitable^® is wrapping up 2025 with our new term rates effective November 22, 2025. Many Canadians view life insurance as unaffordable, with 34% saying cost is the top reason they go without coverage.¹ Our new term rates are designed to help address these concerns. They offer flexible and affordable options to help clients get the protection they need.
¹Investment Executive at Survey finds affordability, lack of trust, barriers to buying life insurance | Investment Executive

What’s New:
Updated premium rates for Term coverage, included on:
• Term 10, Term 20 and Term 30/65 plans

• Including Term Riders on Critical Illness (CI), Whole Life (WL), Equitable Generations^® Universal Life (UL) and Equation Generation^® IV Universal Life

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

New term rate highlights*:

*Effective November 22, 2025. Our term rates ranked among the best on LifeGuide when compared against top carriers in key markets.

Check out our new term rates for yourself. Run quotes monthly (versus annually) for our best term rates.

Contact your Equitable wholesaler today to learn more!
Update: Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefit Extension As it proposed in its 2022 Budget, the federal government has confirmed it is extending the Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits period from 15 weeks to 26 weeks later this year. The official implementation date and details have not yet been confirmed by the government and we will share further details once they are available. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know.

We 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.
Impact to short-term disability (STD) benefits integrated with EI

Plan sponsors with EI-integrated STD may wish to adjust their benefits to line up with the new 26-week extension.

Impact to plans with no STD benefits
For plan sponsors who do not offer STD, they have the option of adjusting their LTD plans to the new 26-week elimination period if members claim EI prior to LTD. This adjustment would help to avoid the plan member receiving disability and EI payments at the same time and potentially being required to return funds due to overpayment.
Considerations for plan sponsors
Plan sponsors who amend their STD or LTD policies to align with the new 26-week EI period should note that there may be inadvertent delays to their employees’ return to work. While collecting EI, injured or ill employees do not benefit from our early intervention services or rigorous claims management practices that could help them get back to work sooner. So, by delaying the availability of STD or LTD coverage, the advantages that these programs are intended to provide could also be delayed.
Impact to Premium Reduction Program (PRP)
The Premium Reduction Program (PRP) allows employers with eligible short-term disability plans to pay lower EI premiums. The eligibility criteria have not changed at this time. The government plans to review the PRP in 2024.
Questions
If you have questions about these changes or what they mean for your clients’ disability plans, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
[pdf] Authorization to Release Evidence
Coming March 23, 2020 – Equimax enhancements include 60 months of flexibility to make extra deposits
The following features will be available on Equimax Estate Builder® and Equimax Wealth Accumulator® plans!

60 months of Excelerator Deposit Option (EDO) flexibility
- Up to 60 months to make initial EDO payment or resume stopped or reduced payments. No additional underwriting required.
- For approved EDO amounts exceeding $150,000 annually ($12,500 monthly), clients have up to 12 months from the date the EDO application was signed or the date of the last EDO payment to make an EDO payment before a contribution cap may apply.
- Available on all policies with an effective date of March 23, 2020 or later.
EDO available on case ratings of 300% or less
- If a policy already in effect has a rating over 200% and up to and including 300%, the owner can apply to add EDO provided the policy was issued under the 2017 tax rules.
- Additional underwriting and submission of satisfactory evidence may be required.
Disability Benefit Disbursement at no extra cost
- If a life insured becomes disabled from a severe mental or physical impairment as defined in the policy contract, the owner may apply for a tax-free,* lump sum payment of up to 100% of the policy’s cash value.
- Exclusions apply. See sample policy contract for full details, including the qualifications for the disbursement.
- Available on all policy issued under the 2017 tax rules.
* Tax laws are subject to change. The payment of the disability benefit disbursement may affect the adjusted cost basis (ACB) of the policy as it is considered payment of a capital benefit. Changes in ACB can affect the future taxation of the policy.

Processing your Application
To make the transition as smooth as possible, please take a moment to review the following transition rules.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cloud DX, Signs Contract with Heart Centre Our partner, Cloud DX, has signed a 3-year contract with an Ontario hospital to help put patients with congestive heart failure at ease.

Cloud DX’s digital health platform works to improve healthcare delivery, provide better care outcomes, and lessen the burden on our national healthcare system. Now, an Ontario heart centre will use the Cloud DX platform to improve its patient monitoring services.

Cloud DX is a value-added service for Equitable Life’s Critical Illness claimants. Cloud DX delivers clinical grade hardware directly to the client so that they can remotely monitor the client’s vitals to help ensure they stay on the road to recovery*.

To learn more about our partnership with CloudDX, click here or contact your local wholesaler.

Watch our video on YouTube or Vimeo!

*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. The claimant must supply their own device to connect to Cloud DX app– a laptop, tablet or cellphone. As well, the claimant needs to supply their own data or internet service.

^®and ^TMdenote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
What's new?