I am excited about 2012 because we continue to see signs of economic improvement, not just here but in the United States, too. In Canada, the unemployment rate was last reported at 7.5 percent in December of 2011 while in the United States, it fell to 8.5 percent in December of 2011, the lowest since February 2009.
In addition, as you know, we operate in a changing industry. The evolving drug landscape alone means that insurance companies, who typically apply a percentage increase to the cost of providing a drug plan every year are applying a lower factor this year. Note: That doesn't mean plans will cost less than last year's (all things being equal), just that the increase will be less. And please also note: At renewal, your Pal consultant looks at your unique organization and claiming trends to determine whether or not that factor is appropriate for you. If justified, we will negotiate to the differential, if there is one.
If you're reading this, that means you're at our newly refreshed website and I hope you like it. We will continue to post news items and resources here (our annual Reference Guide, our Guide to Provider Trends, retirement calculators, handy links, etc.) but we have something new: A more dynamic dialogue through our blog that will be a forum for both of us -- should you choose to comment and I would welcome that -- and an opportunity for us to talk about some of those matters of interest that don't necessarily make it into our newsletter or other communications.
I want to close by personally inviting you to contact me to discuss how we can continue to work together to help you achieve your corporate and human resource goals through benefits, retirement, and compensation strategies. And please let me know what you think of our new site!
Wishing you good health and happiness in 2012.
Michael Worb
President & CEO
Pal Benefits Inc.
