Conversion Consultant
for ASPire Financial Services in FL

Director - Client Services
for Ameritas Life Insurance Corp in OH

Health Benefits Analyst
for The Segal Company in DC, GA

Participant Counselor - Retirement Services
for Diversified in MA

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Western Benefits Conference
in Washington on July 15, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Great Lakes Benefits Conference
in Illinois on June 21, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Northeast Area Benefits Conference
in Massachusetts on July 9, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Northeast Area Benefits Conference
in New York on July 10, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Wacky Assets Webcast
Nationwide on June 19, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

HHS Coverage Examples Calculator Webinar
Nationwide on June 8, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Creating a Culture of Well-Being: Servant Leadership - LIVE FutureOffice Network Smartcast
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network

Global Markets Outlook and Fee Disclosure Next Steps
in California on July 24, 2012 presented by Precept Advisory Group

IRS Guidance on the $2,500 Limit for Health FSAs: Implementation Issues for 2013 and Beyond
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Experts See Trend Against Self-Funding in Stop-Loss Laws
"While ERISA self-insured plans themselves are not subject to state regulation, states are clamping down on stop-loss coverage as a way to discourage self-funding ... [T]he new health system with the exchanges must take in as massive a risk pool as possible. A self-funding option could become more economical if premiums rose due to reform's insur.ance mandates. But that would divert premium-paying customers away from the exchanges ... Efforts to discourage self-insuring have resulted[.]" (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

A Medicare Exchange Could Be Your Answer.   [Advert.]

With the group model becoming increasingly unsustainable, how do you cut costs and still take care of your retirees? Discover the top 4 reasons organizations are exiting their Group Plan & moving to a Medicare Exchange.

House Advances Bill Liberalizing Health FSAs, Repealing Tax on Medical Devices
"Aside from repealing the device tax, the bill would also allow over-the-counter drugs to be expensed under health savings accounts, and give people to access unused medical savings account balances." (The Hill)

Very Few Employers Preparing for Looming Supreme Court Ruling on Health Law
"Just 14% of the 1,027 American employers who responded [to a recent survey] said they'd had 'organized discussions' about the possible outcomes of the decision. Six percent said they had or were developing specific plans for how to respond to whatever they thought the likely decision would be, while 9% had or were developing plans for each possible outcome." (The Wall Street Journal Health Blog)

Massachusetts House Passes Health Care Cost Containment Bill
"The Massachusetts House overwhelmingly approved its version of legislation designed to cut the cost of medical care, passing the measure 148-7 after a full day of debate on June 5th.... The House and Senate bills ... contain key differences, most notably over how much discretion and control the health care industry itself may have to contain costs." (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)

Health Plan Sponsors Betting on Value-Based Drug Plan Designs to Lower Overall Costs
"[The author explores] the slow yet promising growth of value-based insur.ance designs that incorporate copayment reductions to improve compliance and encourage overall improvements in patient management of a chronic disease state.... Medication adherence is definitely a desired outcome of value-based programs, and insurers implementing these plans are homing in on specific conditions in which increased adherence might lead to an overall net savings." (AISHealth.com)

7th Annual Executive Forum on the Business of Wellness - July 24-26 - Chicago   [Advert.]

Meaningful worksite wellness programs motivate behavior change and combat ever-increasing health care costs. This event delivers a roadmap to achieve measurable outcomes and meaningful, individual behavior change.

Evaluating the Promises and Pitfalls of Wellness Programs (PDF)
"The first priority of wellness programs should be to promote health and well-being, not to shift health care costs to those who already face the greatest health risks. Unfortunately, not all wellness programs are created equal. In fact, some wellness program designs can be harmful to consumers. Particularly for people with health problems or those with lower incomes, certain kinds of wellness programs can actually make health coverage unaffordable and can result in compromised access to health care." (FamiliesUSA)

Young, Uninsured and in Debt: Why Young Adults Lack Health Insur.ance and How the Affordable Care Act Is Helping
"In 2011, 13.7 mil.lion young adults ages 19 to 25 stayed on or joined their parents' health plans, including 6.6 mil.lion who would likely not have been able to do so before passage of the Affordable Care Act ... However, not all young adults have parents with health plans they can join, and many still experience gaps in coverage and face medical bill problems and medical debt. Nearly two of five (39%) young adults ages 19 to 29 went without health insur.ance at some time in 2011, and more than one-third (36%) had medical bill problems or were paying off medical debt. Of those who reported problems with medical bills or debt, many faced serious financial consequences[.]" (The Commonwealth Fund)

Will Health Reform Lead to Job Loss? Evidence from Massachusetts Says 'No'
"In 2006, Massachusetts enacted an ambitious health care reform bill that greatly expanded insur.ance coverage in the state. This brief explores whether the State's reform initiative led to a dampening of employment and, thus, economic growth.... The evidence suggests that Massachusetts has achieved its goal of near-universal health insur.ance coverage under its 2006 health reform initiative, with no indication of negative job consequences." (Urban Institute)

Vermont's Goal: 'Universal, Affordable Coverage'
"[Link to an interview with] Anya Rader Wallack, tapped to move Vermont toward a single payer health care system, who is confident the state would enact its own individual mandate requiring people to buy insur.ance if the Supreme Court strikes down the federal mandate. Still, finding the money to replace the lost federal subsidies won't be easy. Wallack says, 'We'll have to cover [people] without adding new resources to the system or raising taxes at the state level. Both of those are difficult for a little state.'" (Kaiser Health News)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation on Repealing 'Use-It-Or-Lose-It' for Health FSAs (PDF)
"Under the use it or lose it rule, health care FSA participants must either use all of their FSA dollars or forfeit them at the end of the plan year. ECFC has long supported efforts to overturn this rule either through legislative action such as the cash-out approach envisioned in the bipartisan H.R. 1004, the Medical FSA Improvement Act, or a 'roll over' put in place through regulatory action, which we fully believe the Administration has the authority to undertake." (Employers Council on Flexible Compensation)

[Opinion]

Health Reform: What If Obama Hadn't Tried It?
"Everyone agrees the crux of the long-term deficit problem is health care spending.... Obama and his team believe that the Affordable Care Act is the single largest legislative effort ever to reduce health care spending both in Medicare and in the rest of the system ... Republicans don't believe that, which is fine. But that's an argument over whether the Affordable Care Act will work. It's not an argument over whether the Obama administration attempted to address the long-term drivers of the deficit." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Michigan Budget Czar: Go Slow on Teacher Retirement Changes
"Michigan lawmakers should pass a bill next week that ends state-provided health care coverage in retirement for new teachers but without language that would force them into a 401(k)-style retirement plan, the state budget director said ... [T]eachers hired since 2010 are under a hybrid pension plan largely paid for by the teachers themselves. Switching to a defined contribution plan would double the amount the state has to contribute to new teachers' retirement benefits ... he said." (The Examiner)

Low Interest Rates Crimp Plans to Retire, Survey Finds
"Rising pessimism about the course of the economy, along with low interest rates and increasing health care costs, are squeezing Americans' retirement plans, a new survey finds. A third of the investors surveyed said low interest rates would cause them to delay retirement.... 45 percent of nonretirees and about a third of retirees said they feared that the low rates might result in them outliving their money in retirement ... 29 percent of nonretirees surveyed said that rising health care costs had reduced their ability to save for retirement, and about 12 percent said that was a factor in delaying their retirement." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Domestic Partner and Same-S.ex Marriage Laws in Washington State: Marriage Equality Act and Employee Benefits
"[I]f Washington voters approve the Marriage Equality Act in November, employee benefit plans and procedures will need to be in compliance. Therefore, in the interim, employers should consider the potential impact of the Marriage Equality Act on their employee benefit plans and procedures (which should already have been reviewed and revised to ensure compliance with the 'everything but marriage' law). This advisory revisits the employee benefits compliance issues that arose from 'everything but marriage,' and addresses additional benefits issues arising from the Marriage Equality Act, assuming that it becomes law later this year." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

Labor and Employment Issues in Corporate Transactions Strategic Considerations and Hidden Liabilities (PDF)
"This article helps buyers and their counsel evaluate the labor and employment implications of a potential deal by: Providing an overview of the strategic considerations relating to labor and employment issues that should be assessed in a merger or acquisition. Discussing common hidden liabilities and specific labor and employment issues that can have a significant impact on the transaction, but that are sometimes overlooked in the due diligence process.' [Includes detailed discussion of retirement plan, multiemployer plan, and other ERISA and benefits issues.] (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)

TAMPA BAY’S ALLTRUST INSURANCE JOINS BENEFIT ADVISORS NETWORK
(Benefit Advisors Network)