January 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COBRA News Update
A close-up look at the latest news in COBRA.

Looking at Whole Life Insurance As
an Alternative to Secondary Guarantees
by Dennis Lawton, CLU
Whole life products with term riders can serve as alternative to the shrinking world of secondary guaranteed universal life products.

Wellness Conferences Highlight Healthcare Alternatives
by Leila Morris
Read about the the latest developments from conferences featuring wellness plans, voluntary benefits and medical tourism.

California’s Failed Exchange – When the Silver Bullet Turned to Lead
by Frank Loughry
How California’s A.B. 1672 failed to generate more competition in the small group market and eventually failed.

Curbing Costs and Creating Value With Vision Plans
by Steven H. Johnson
Now is the time to show your clients how offering workplace health management and wellness solutions, combined with an underutilized low-cost benefit – vision healthcare – can curb costs and create value for employees.

Constricting Healthcare Costs with HSAs
Part I of Our Annual Survey
Find Out Which HSAs Will Work Best
For You With Our Annual Survey

Taking a Fresh Look at Benefit Enrollmentt
by Jay Hutchins
The holistic approach maximizes enrollment process for employers and employees.

The Popularity of Voluntary Dental Grows As
Employers Focus on Excellent Communication
by Karen Gustin, LLIF
A growing interest in voluntary plans gives producers an excellent opportunity to enhance relationships with employers by recommending dental insurance coverage that meets the needs of their employees.

Attracting a Diverse Health Plan Membership Through
Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Care
by Patricia Marine Barrett
California is among the nation’s most diverse states. Latinos comprise over 36% of the population and Asians comprise 12.5%.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Now Medi-Chaos?
by George V. Duczak
The health-reform debate is not really about any type of healthcare cost controls, but rather a long pent up belief, within the Democratic Party, that healthcare is a right of every person in America.

Medical Travel and Surgery Management:
The Consumer-Driven Product That Sells Itself
by Victor Lazzaro, Jr.
Employers can reap significant savings with a medical travel health benefit while giving their employees greater choice.

What to Look For in a Worker’s Comp Carrier
by Jennifer Vargen
As an agent you need to know that workers’ compensation insurance can extend the range of solutions that you offer.

Motivating the Business Owner to do Succession Planning
by David K. Smucker, CPA, CLU, ChFC
The biggest challenge can be getting the business owner to start the planning process.