The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Manulife Financial was in an exclusive pharmacy deal with Loblaw, but changed its stance allowing group benefit plan members to use any pharmacy they want for certain specialty drug prescriptions. The Globe's triple bylined item reports that despite the change, plan members are still facing obstacles when trying to switch providers. OnPharm-United director Michael Nashat has stated that some members of his network have reported that Manulife has denied about 100 claims for specialty drugs for their customers. These customers are attempting to switch their prescriptions from Manulife's previous preferred providers, Bayshore HealthCare and Shoppers Drug Mart. Mr. Nashat says: "Obviously, we weren't expecting Manulife to make that change happen right away. For a lot of these patients who have been getting their drugs through Bayshore for three to four years -- and are looking to continue with Bayshore -- there is no problem. But when people began switching pharmacies -- even weeks after the announcement -- or for those new Manulife clients coming in, it has become a major issue." He adds, "Pharmacies continue to see reimbursement requests denied on a daily basis."