An Employer Perspective Moosehead Breweries Ltd. Mike Lee Vice President – Human Resources

Inspire at Work Example of Employer Benefits Demonstration of commitment to employee health Employer of choice (Retention/Recruitment) Healthier workforce Increased productivity  $11,666 (for 3 months/11 participants) Decreased absenteeism  $10,384 (for 3 months/11 participants) The average number of days participants reported experiencing asthma symptoms at work, over the past 3 months at baseline and 9 months.

Program Relevance Traditional attempts at managing “high” cost of drugs has been an employer dilemma for years. We have gone through three “strategies” to contain these costs:  Recognition and Blame Phase – High costs are due to greed of - Pharmacists (Fees), Manufacturers and Insurance Companies.  Managed Costs Phase – Transfer costs to others – premium sharing, co-pays, fixed pharmacy fees.  Managed Care Phase – Restricted formularies, special authorization, generic and therapeutic substitution. The end result is focus on costs, not Value.

Addressing the Real Issue  Need to view a drug plan as an Employee Wellness investment versus a benefit cost.  Employers, Manufacturers, Medical community, Retailers, Carriers, and others need to look at Value Concept, versus Costs.  This would focus on the proper and therapeutic use of medications as tools to address employee health issues.

The Value Proposition  Education, Education, Education!!!!!  Partnerships, not adversarial relationships between Employers and other parties. Move from blame to opportunity.  Inspire Program great example where implementation of a value approach actually significantly reduced costs, primarily due to focused and specific education on proper use of medication.  Leads to the Importance of Partnerships.

The Importance of Partnerships  Recognize GSK, Medavie Blue Cross, and as well the participating employees who made our program a success.  We all need to focus on investment opportunity of Wellness programs, and include the prescription drug program in the wellness tool chest.  From an Employer perspective, the status quo of cost shifting and restrictions is not acceptable.

We will know we are there when programs such as Inspire at Work become the norm, not the exception. Thank You…