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March 2014 Bulletin

News from The Benefit Specialists Corp.

From: The Benefit Specialists Corp. <sean.murray@beneco.ca>
Subject: News from The Benefit Specialists Corp.
Reply: sean.murray@beneco.ca

Dear sean,

 

We hope you enjoy the March 2014 edition of our bulletin.  Please feel free to contact us if you ever have any questions or concerns, we are here to help!


 The Benefit Specialists Corp. Newsletter

 


    

                                                                              
                                                        March
 2014

In This Issue
 
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Outdoor Home Maintenance
Mike Port - Journeyman Roofer

 

Checking the exterior of your home should be a biannual task for most home owners. By looking over the outside of the house in the spring and again in the fall minor problems can be caught and repaired before they become big problems that need to be fixed immediately, usually at a greater cost.

 

Home owners should walk around the house and look at the trees, siding, windows, gutters, and the roof if possible. Do the trees rub on the house? Are there large branches hanging over the house? Has the siding been damaged? These are a few things that property owners can check on their own without the need of a ladder in most cases. Leaking gutters and missing down pipe extensions that allow water to collect close to the foundation of the house can lead to water inside the basement during heavy rain or quick snow melts.

 

Answers to fixing small problems around the house can often be found on the internet these days. For large problems that may require special tools or knowledge there is the option of the free consultation and estimate that most home contractors offer. By contacting three to four contractors, maybe more if the problem is complicated, a home owner can get professional recommendations and estimated costs to complete these repairs. This can also be a good way to judge whether this is a do -it- your- self- project or one best left to professionals.

 

When it comes to roofing it is often better to leave maintenance and repairs to professionals. Unless it is a low sloped roof on a one story home, being on the roof is often intimidating and can even be dangerous for untrained people. The type of roofing material installed and the design of the roof will greatly influence what should be done to maintain the roof and how the work can be done. Typical roofing materials used in Calgary are asphalt shingles, cedar shakes, pine shakes, concrete tiles, clay tiles, metal tiles and standing seam metal to name a few. The life expectance of this product varies greatly from twenty to fifty plus years. The longer a product is expected to last on the roof the more important routine maintenance becomes in order to extend the life of the roof. Good quality cedar shakes, looked after two or three times, can last up to thirty years. If broken or missing concrete and clay tiles are replaced before the underlay is damaged these roofs can last for sixty years or more.

              

At Foothills Roofing we can provide our customers with a roof evaluation and maintenance plan. Using trained journeymen and apprentice roofers ensures that our roofers have a broad knowledge of current roofing systems and installation methods. When it comes time to replace the roof on their home we help our customers understand all of the options available and the benefits of each type of roofing system.    

 

Federal Budget 2014
TBSC

Improving the application of the GST/HST to the Health Care Sector

the 2014 Federal Budget proposes changes to improve the application of the GST/HST to certain health-related services and medical and assistive devices to reflect the evolving nature of the health care sector:

Specially trained service animals

Proposal to expand the list of eligible expenses under the Medical Expense Tax Credit to include costs associated with service animals specially trained to assist individuals with severe diabetes, such as diabetes alert dogs.

Designing training for individuals with a disorder or disability

Proposal to expand the exemption for training that is specially designed to assist individuals with a disorder or disability to also exempt the services of designing such training. The exemption will apply to the initial development and design of the plan and any subsequent adjustments.

Acupuncturists' and Naturopathic Doctors' services

The professional services of acupuncturists and naturopathic doctors are now regulated as a health profession in at least five provinces. Accordingly, Budget 2014 proposes that acupuncturists and naturopathic doctors be added to the list of health care practitioners whose professional services rendered to individuals are exempt from the GST/HST.

Eyewear specially designed to electronically enhance the vision of individuals with vision impairment

Budget 2014 proposes to add eyewear specially designed to treat or correct a defect of vision by electronic means, if supplied on the written order of a physician or optometrist for use by a consumer named in the order, to the list of GST/HST zero-rated medical and assistive devices.

What employers need to know about rheumatoid arthritis.

Over the past year or two, plan sponsors have likely noticed drugs treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suddenly appearing in their listing of top therapeutic classes by cost for their paid drug claims. As RA is a leading cause of disability and can be a significant claims cost driver, it's important to understand how RA impacts those who have been diagnosed with it and what employers can do to support positive health outcomes for their employees with this disease.

 

RA is a type of inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disorder where, for reasons unknown, a person's immune system attacks the synovium, or the tissue that lines the joints. This attack results in inflammation that, over time, can both destroy the synovium and erode the joint. RA is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 50, with women affected three times more often than men. There is no cure for RA-the goal of treatment is to reduce the inflammation and push the disease into remission, slowing its progression.

 

RA commonly affects the small joints of the hands and feet, and affected joints often occur on both sides of the body at the same time. Symptoms can include joint pain and stiffness, fatigue, lack of appetite and low-grade fever. Everyone experiences RA symptoms differently. One person may have symptoms well controlled with medication and supportive therapies, while another may experience frequent flares and severe inflammation.

 

RA is treated with prescription drugs in an effort to reduce the inflammation and interrupt or slow down the biologic processes causing the inflammation. DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) are the primary drugs of choice in treating RA. They include drugs such Imuran, Arava and Methotrexate. DMARDs are often prescribed in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), corticosteroids or other DMARDs. Biologics such as Remicade, Enbrel or Humira are also used to treat RA, sometimes in combination with a DMARD.

 

As with other chronic health conditions, people managing RA build a care team around them. For RA patients, this team would include a rheumatologist. It could also include a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, acupuncturist and/or massage therapist, nutritionist or naturopath, pharmacist and potentially a social worker or psychologist to help them with coping strategies for chronic pain. Some individuals with RA are also prescribed medical devices to help reduce joint load.

 

When the disease is active, or a person with RA is experiencing a "flare," the symptoms can vary greatly over a seemingly short period of time. Flares can occur very suddenly even when the disease has been under control. Flares can fluctuate in duration, lasting days or months, in frequency and severity. When flares happen, rapid medical intervention can reduce both the severity and duration.

 

Employees with RA may need some workplace accommodation to help ease their symptoms or work without pain. The degree to which modification is required is variable and depends on both their symptoms, which joints have active inflammation and their job duties: an administrator may have difficulty sitting for long periods, while a machinist may have challenges grasping objects. Employers can work with employees to make modifications to workspaces or provide adaptive tools to help with tasks such as typing or object manipulation. An assessment by an occupational therapist or ergonomist can help assess the impact of work tasks on any joint pain they may be experiencing. A flexible work arrangement can also be helpful-a schedule that allows for a later start in the morning or the ability to work from home can help an employee with RA to significantly improve productivity and task performance by working around morning joint pain and stiffness.

 

Employees managing their RA may have challenges scheduling medical appointments outside of work hours, especially when seeing specialists. While the RA is stable, most people see their rheumatologist every four to six months. Some medications require regular blood tests while they're being taken or need to be administered in a hospital setting or infusion clinic. These appointments, including appointments with supportive practitioners such as physiotherapists or occupational therapists, for example, will increase in frequency during a flare. Make sure your employee is aware of your workplace's policy about time off during the workday, and develop a plan for flexibility to accommodate appointments that must occur during peak business hours to set out a clear understanding of expectations ahead of time.

 

Most employers want to make sure employees have access to the drugs they need when they need them, while protecting their plans for the impact of high-cost drugs. As some drugs used to treat RA can be costly, employers can mitigate their risk by ensuring their plans are protected by pooling provisions and that their insurer has a robust prior authorization procedure in place. Prior authorization helps control costs by ensuring that other less costly treatments have been tried first and whether the more costly treatments will be beneficial. Employers should make sure their drug plans include a requirement for employees to participate in patient assistance plans when available for additional support. Some insurers also offer case management services for high-cost biologics to try to reduce waste while supporting better health outcomes for patients.

 

Employers should take a critical look at potential barriers to treatment adherence in their plan design. High out-of-pocket costs can lead employees to choose not to fill prescriptions, leading to a more rapid progression of their disease and potential disability. Employers can also make sure that employees with RA have sufficient coverage for supportive therapies and assistive devices such as splints and mobility aids.

 

Disability policy language should also be reviewed: most disability policies are designed to address conditions that are somewhat sustained rather than chronic health conditions that can result in "pulses" of absence or disability. Depending on the provisions regarding recurrent disability, these episodic disabilities can result in barriers to benefit access and can slow attempts to return to work.

 

While challenges remain, there have been significant advances in the treatment of RA. With early treatment, good disease management once inflammation is under control and strong support from their employers, workers with RA can remain active and productive members of your workforce.

 

 

The information contained in this bulletin is for general information purposes only. The articles published in this bulletin have been collected by The Benefit Specialists Corp. (TBSC) and we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained.  Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.  In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits out of, or in connection with, the use of the information contained in this bulletin.  Through this bulletin you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TBSC.  We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Sean Murray
The Benefit Specialists Corp.
sean.murray@beneco.ca
(403) 547-5236

This email was sent to sean.murray@telus.net by sean.murray@beneco.ca |  
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