Some insurers are reducing premiums after COVID-19 shut down physiotheraphy, dental offices GlobeInvestor
Physiotherapist Lalitha McSorley works on a patient while wearing her personal protective equipment at the Brentwood Physiotherapy Therapy clinic in Calgary, on June 5, 2020.Back in March, COVID-19 forced dentists and other health care providers, such as physiotherapists, massage therapists and acupuncturists, to close their doors. That meant Canadians with benefits were blocked from any in-person routine visits to these providers.
All the insurance companies he works with have introduced temporary premium reductions, he says, meaning workers or their employers won’t be forced to pay for services they can’t use. If the plan is structured so that employees pay only a portion of the premium, they could see some savings, too. Sun Life Financial, for example, did not offer reductions in premiums to people with personal health insurance plans.
Since providers are beginning to open back up and claims are starting to flow, Mr. Jones says the company is now figuring out what credit level it will offer for the month of June. In April and May, the premium reductions meant an average credit of about $56 a member per month. Other insurance companies are structuring premium reductions differently. Green Shield Canada’s premium reductions apply for April, May and June, with a 75-per-cent reduction in dental rates and a 20-per-cent reduction in health rates, excluding drugs. Desjardins Insurance, meanwhile, has not announced any premium discounts, credits or extensions on dental or other health benefits.
Benefits cost an average of $9,011 per full-time equivalent employee, according to 2019 figures from the Conference Board of Canada.
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