The basics: health & dental

Health and dental benefits are considered the foundation of any benefit
program design. When considering the root issues of all absenteeism from the
workplace, most employers agree that health or dental related illness is cited
most as the cause. While many have not thought of dental coverage as being a
key attraction point, a number of medical reports have been published
recently, that indicate that many of our common virus and illnesses are
actually related to poor dental health. An organizations ability to be creative,
flexible and generous in providing health and dental coverage can be a key to
attracting and retaining top performers as part of the total compensation
package.

Health
Even in Canada, where Government plans provide approximately 70% of all
healthcare expenses, the remaining gap is still perceived as a major concern
for employees and employers. Private healthcare plans are restricted by
legislation to expenses not fully covered by government programs.

Organizational health expense plans are generally permitted in the following

areas across Canada:

Hospital room charges in excess of the standard rate to cover semi-private

or private accommodation
Hospital charges for emergency treatment outside Canada
Drugs, medication and vaccines and other supplies available only by
prescription
Professional services of a physician for out-of-country medical expenses
Professional services for private duty nursing
Charges for special medical appliances such as crutches, artificial limbs or
wheelchairs
Non-emergency ambulance services
Dental treatments not requiring hospitalization.
Professional services provided by licensed paramedicals, such as
psychologists, massage therapists, speech therapists, podiatrists,
physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, or naturopaths.
Vision care expenses including frames and lenses, contact lenses, fitting and
remedial treatment, laser eye correction surgery
This option is one that many employers struggle to provide their
employees with as the number requiring vision care is so great, the cost of
including this option could raise the employers costs by anywhere from
20 to 40%