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2009 Voluntary Benefits Conference Testimonials

“The Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference was a great opportunity to meet with others in the industry and discuss successes as well as future goals for our programs. This conference was well thought out and with experts from a broad spectrum of vendors, consultants and employers. Thank you for a wonderful experience."
Colleen DePadua, Black & Decker

“The Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference was a great experience for me. The networking meetings provided an excellent opportunity to have in depth conversations about key products/benefits and the presentations provided great insights into limited medical and voluntary benefits."
Christy Goldberg, McDonalds USA LLC, Manager U.S. Restaurant Benefits & Compensation

“The event was a great networking opportunity, I found that I was able to connect with old friends and make new ones”
Jim Mattison Vice President Marsh Global Consumer Voluntary Benefits

“I found the voluntary benefits conference to be well worth the time scheduled to attend. It provided me the opportunity to meet many carriers at one location and to hear from my piers in the voluntary markets what their challenges, successes, were along with their perception of our market going forward."
Keith A. Swigart Vice President, Employee Benefits, Voluntary Products Willis, Inc.

“The conference gave me a good opportunity to look at different ways Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical can be integrated into our core business. I came away with some new ideas around how to utilize these products to solve issues that many of our clients are facing in the current economy."
Tiffany Stiller BenefitMall

“One of the best and most focused conferences…I have been to. Provided real opportunities to meet and network with professionals in ….”
Harris Galatan National Accounts Regional Sales VP SRC - An Aetna Company

“Thank you for inviting me to exhibit at the conference, it was one of the best conference's that I have exhibited at for lead generation. The attendee's were very interested in new ideas and products and were there to do business. Networking meetings were a great idea, and quite a few leads came from the experience. Look forward to seeing you next year.”
Harris Galatan National Accounts Regional Sales VP SRC - An Aetna Company

“Without question, the best conference I have been to in my 30 years of healthcare experience. Almost all conferences, I have previously invested time and money resulted in little or no actual contact with meaningful prospects. The uniquely executed “speed dating” concept to request and meet with conference participants was the most productive time I have ever spent at a conference.”
Geri Ann Cangelosi, Aegis Administrative Services, Inc.

“This year’s Voluntary Benefits Conference was a real pleasure. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous right across from Sony Pictures. Hollywood types in and out of the hotel lobby. I enjoyed seeing old associates and making new connections. I expect some of those new contacts will be profitable for years to come.”
John Kuveikis Government Service Administrators

“With conference budgets being carefully scrutinized, this will be one which will make my budget for 2010! The industry needs more professional conferences which bring value as well as business opportunities!”
Jason B, Krouse, JD, USI Vice President Specialized Markets

“I thought the Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference was a big success. The information was good, the attendees covered a broad spectrum of the industry and the networking sessions were a big hit.”
Keith Appleton, Managing Director Foundation One Insurance Services, Ltd

“Very well organized and productive!”
Rob Philibosian Account Executive Humana Specialty Benefits >

“The conference was BOTH fun and rewarding. I learned a great deal and developed some new business. THANKS.”
Ron Agypt, Vice President Broker Sales Aflac Incorporated, Worldwide Headquarters

“We felt the Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference was a very worthwhile event. We plan on returning next year. The sessions were excellent and we made some valuable contacts.”
Scott Halverson California Broker Magazine

“It was a great networking opportunity for Humana. The speakers were knowledgeable and the topics were spot on. Thanks to you and your staff and for your professionalism.”
Patricia Moore Market President Humana

“Networking is King! And the Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical Conference provided just the place to both network and learn from those who are helping to shape the market in these areas. Whether your interest was in meeting the brokers who are shaping the market, the insurance carriers who are developing the market, or the various vendor groups who are expanding the reach of this market, this gathering in L.A. will have helped you reach your goals."
Dr. Tony Dale, Chairman and Founder of The Karis Group, Inc.

Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference Brochure
IS NOW AVAILABLE!

Voluntary Benefits & Limited Medical Conference

HYATT REGENCY CENTURY PLAZA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Monday, September 20^th, 2010-Wednesday, September 22^nd, 2010

Prescheduled Networking Meetings

Throughout the conference there will be up to 3,000 private one-on-one prescheduled networking meetings through the Voluntary Benefits Magazine proprietary networking software. Attendees will be able to prior to attending go online see who else is attending and then request meetings. Upon acceptance of the other person the software will then schedule the networking meeting and there will be dedicated networking rooms. Attendees can pre-schedule up to 50 private one-on-one networking meetings during the conference.

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Registration (Constellation Ballroom)

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Welcoming Wine & Cheese Networking Reception (Exhibit Hall)

Day 1 Monday, September 20th, 2010

7:00 am - 6:00 pm Registration (Constellation Ballroom)

7:30 am - 8:30 pm Coffee and Tea (Exhibit Hall)

8:20 am - 8:30 am Opening Ceremony & Speech

8:30 am - 9:00 am Opening Keynote Speech– Microsoft – The Free Benefits Approach

This session will examine how Microsoft provides free insurance and benefits. Find out why Microsoft is unique and how they provide benefits for free that are typically offered on a voluntary basis.

Speaker:

Brady Jensen, Group Manager, Global Benefits, Microsoft Corporation

9:00 am - 10:00 am GameStop, a Case Study in Voluntary Benefits

As one of the nation’s fastest growing retail corporations, Game Stop was looking to partner with an organization to assist it in streamlining its benefit communication, enrollment and products platform. After a very detailed marketplace due diligence analysis, Game Stop partnered with Univers Workplace Solutions. Over a 4 year period the relationship between Corporation and Provider has turned into a partnership built on trust and success cumulating in the 2010 Benny Award from Employee Benefit News. Please join us to learn how to truly implement a successful partnership between Company, Consultant, Communications Firm and Carrier, the responsibilities of each partner, the strategies involved in deployment, time and resource commitment from each party and how the impacts of healthcare reform have further strengthened the importance and need of each party in this relationship. This session will examine GameStop’s voluntary benefits program and how a unique education and enrollment method was used to target the specific and unique demographic of this employer.

Speakers:

Faye Saenz, Director of Employee Benefits, GamesStop Corporation

Jason Krouse, VP of Specialized Markets, Univers Workplace Benefits

Nicole Cleves, VP, Consulting, Univers Workplace Solutions

Bret Boeger, Principal, Blue Chip Advisors

10:00 am - 11:00 am The CLASS Act and Opportunities in Long Term Care Voluntary Benefits

The CLASS Act provides many challenges and opportunities for Corporate America. This case study panel session will discuss two different employers, one with over 25,000 employees and one with over 500 and how they will be dealing with long term care voluntary benefits and the CLASS Act. The session will address what their respective organizations think about the CLASS Act and why they see Long-Term care as a corporate fiduciary responsibility to their employees.

Speakers:

Jane Wendel, Director of Benefits, Guidestone
Matthew Dean, Executive Director, Product Management, USAA
Dan Cahn, Senior Vice President, LTC Financial Partners

11:00 am - 11:30 am Critical Illness and Cancer Plans

This session will cover the history of critical illness and cancer plans, what their future is and the different types of critical illness and cancer plans in the marketplace today.

Speaker:

Robert Shestack, WBC, Managing Director, Marsh U.S Consumer

11:30 am - 12:30 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Santa Monica/Exhibit Hall)

12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Networking Lunch (Exhibit Hall)

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm ROI on a Voluntary Benefits program

This session will address how leading national employers communicate, educate and enroll employees in Voluntary Benefits and other insurance policies and benefits. The session will also examine what their “wish list” is for voluntary benefits. Learn what new products they would like designed and what they would like changed with their existing voluntary benefits or how they are administered and/or enrolled.

Speakers:

Colleen DePadua, Manager of Group Insurance, Black & Decker
Bernie C. Knobbe, Vice President of Benefits, ACS, a Xerox Company
Bob Trujillo, Program Director Human Resources, American Bar Association

2:45 pm - 3:45 pm Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical Plans for Ethnic Employees

The Hispanic and Ethnic Marketplace is one of the largest “untapped” marketplaces for voluntary benefits and limited medical plans. Learn how certain employers, insurers and agents and creating innovative new ways to market and package voluntary benefits and limited medial plans and successfully market it to ethnic groups and Hispanics. Also learn how cross border healthcare options and medical tourism are emerging in limited medical, critical illness and cancer plans.

Speakers:

Jerry Turney, President, The Consolidated Marketing Group President

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm What Can Brokers do to Increase their Commission?

Learn about new and innovative products in the post healthcare reform climate. This session will focus on outside the box revenue opportunities for agents, brokers and consultants. This session will also touch on general purpose reloadable cards, which many employers are implementing as the trend for paying part time and hourly workers.

Speakers:

Kim Darling, Founder and President, Competitive Health Inc.
Mark Tepper, Founder and President, 1to1 Card
Tom Britz, President and CEO, PanAm Payment Systems, Inc.

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Santa Monica/Exhibit Hall)

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm It Ain't Right! Who can you trust? Companies? Brokers? Providers?

In today's business climate, everyone is "transparent" or offering "full-disclosure." Are they? With rebates, supplemental commissions, average discounts, bills not allowed to be audited before payment is due, what is really going on in Healthcare? This session will shed light on transparency.

Speaker:

Todd Dorton, Area Vice President, Gallagher Benefit Services

6:15 pm -7:45 pm Networking Cocktail reception (Exhibit Hall)

Day 2 Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

7:00 am - 2:00 pm Registration (Constellation Ballroom) **Registration Closes at 2 pm

7:30 am - 8:30 am Coffee and Tea (Exhibit Hall)

8:30 am - 9:00 am Keynote Speech

9:00 am - 10:00 am Overcoming Enrollment Challenges and Obstacles in the 21st Century

This session will be a panel of several employers discussing their voluntary benefits programs. They will discuss the challenges, obstacles and successes they have had in their voluntary benefit programs, and why they chose to offer specific benefits over others.

Speakers:

Bruce MacKay, Director of Administration, Eldorado Hotel & Casino
Mike Verner, Director of HR & Recruiting, Encompass Home Health
Carol Jula, Director of HR, Select Energy Services, LLC
Jim Mattison, Market Vice President, Aflac Incorporated

10:00 am - 11:00 am Survivor of the Fittest, Limited Medical and Mini Medical Plans - Post Healthcare Reform

Don’t give up on limited medical and mini medical plans yet! Learn how and why some limited medical and mini medical plans will survive healthcare reform. Employers across the country are evaluating their healthcare plans in light of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), as amended by the Health Care Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010. Fixed indemnity-type limited benefit medical products and other plan types continue to be an option for employers seeking a less expensive, though less comprehensive, way to provide medical benefits to employees and their dependents. As the market evolves with the implementation of the PPACA, certain limited medical and mini medical plans can help employers bridge the gap as they work through their options and obligations under the new healthcare law.

Speakers:

McDonalds Inc. (Tentative)

Tom Blomberg, Assistant Vice President, Commercial Marketing, BCS Life Insurance Company
Steve Daiber, Regional Vice President, Symetra Life Insurance Company

11:00 am - 11:30 am Healthcare Reform’s Affect on the Retail Industry

Speakers:

Neil Trautwein, Vice President, Employee Benefits Policy Counsel National Retail Federation

11:30 am - 12:30 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Santa Monica/Exhibit Hall)

12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Networking Lunch (Exhibit Hal

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm The Success Story of the State of North Carolina’s Voluntary Benefit Program – From 727 Enrolled Employees to over 200,000 in 15 years

North Carolina State Government has a fragmented benefits structure, complex payroll system with 16 payroll units and diverse workforce. With this background, NC Flex program which offers pre-tax voluntary benefits to all employees has grown from 727 employees in 1995 to 230,366 participants(about 90,000) in 2010. This phenomenal growth is accomplished with several key milestones. Program initiatives in educational and awareness, employee self service, communication materials and communication cost management. This program generates FICA savings to the tune of six million dollars per year and employees save about 18 million dollars in savings to employees. Employee survey indicates that approximately 81% ranked the NCFlex program overall as “Very good” or “good” with regard to both quality of benefits offered and vendor service.

Speaker:

Pani Tademeti, HR Manager – Total Compensation, Office of State Personnel, North Carolina

2:45 pm to 3:45 pm Employers Case Studies on Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical Plans

This session will examine several large employers and cover what voluntary benefit and limited medical plans they offer to their employees, who is eligible, what they do that is unique and why they choose the benefits that they did. The session will also examine how they enroll their employees and what innovative benefit offerings they have planned for the future.

Speakers:

Christina Harmon, Director of Benefits Administration, Ruby Tuesday
Stephanie Ayala, Manager, Health-Welfare & Associates, Pier 1 Imports
Cheryl Soper, Director of Benefits at CKE Restaurants
Robyn Piper, Principal, Piper Jordan, LLC

3:45 pm - 4:15 Topic TBA

Speaker: Jim Davidson, President, EOI Insurance Company

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Santa Monica)

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm Voluntary Benefits Association (VBA) Annual Industry Meeting and Membership Meeting (open to all)

This will be the 2nd Annual meeting of the Voluntary Benefits Association, the only non-profit trade association for the voluntary benefits industry representing employers, agents, consultants, brokers, TPA’s, insurers and more. Learn about the VBA’s past activities and it’s activities moving forward in the future.

6:15 pm - 7:45 pm Networking Cocktail Reception (Green Circle Terrace, Lobby Level, Outdoors)

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

8:30 am - 9:00 am Coffee & Tea (Olympic Ballroom Lounge)

9:00 am – 9:30 am Keynote – Healthcare Reform and Passion

Passion is described as a “compelling, intense feeling or emotion, love, ardent affection, avid desire, lust, zeal, the subject of an engrossing pursuit.” Do you have a undeniable vision of why you do, what you do for a living, or are you just going through the motions and collecting a paycheck? With the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, have you lost that passion for this industry? It’s been said, “If you have passion for what you do for a living, you’ll never work another day in your life!” Have you lost that fire in your marriage? How about that association or civic club you belong? I will share some thoughts, ideas, and strategies on how to find, then nurture, passion in the workplace, as well as your personal life, in this presentation through stories and life experiences.

Speaker:

David Cheek, Inspirational Speaker/Author, "Got Passion?"

9:30 am -10:15 am The Advantage of Including Vision as a Voluntary Benefit to reduce Medical Costs

10:15 am - 11:30 am Healthcare Reform Certification Workshop

This certification is specifically for CFO’s, Benefit Managers/HR, health insurance agents and consultants, TPA’s, and insurers. The purpose of the certification is to show the recipient has received advanced education in healthcare reform and has an understanding of the rules, regulations and compliance issues under healthcare reform. The certification shows that the recipient also has been educated by some of the nation’s experts on healthcare reform and has the ability to better advise those involved in the healthcare industry on the true affects and compliance issues under healthcare reform.

Speaker:

Robyn Piper, Principal, Piper Jordan, LLC

11:30 am - 12:30 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Santa Monica)

12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Networking Lunch (Plaza Pavilion)

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm Lowe’s Companies & Cleveland Clinic Case Study in Domestic Medical Tourism

Domestic Medical Tourism is a growing trend in the US where US employers and patients are traveling to other cities, counties, and states, and traveling across the country to other hospitals for major surgery because of the quality of care or affordability. This session will be a case study of how Lowe’s Company partnered with the Cleveland Clinic to offer Lowe’s employees around the country access to heart procedures at the Cleveland Clinic. Learn how because of the high quality and outcomes at this hospital, Lowe’s Companies is saving money and providing their employees with better outcomes.

Speakers:

Bob Ihrie, Senior Vice President of Employee Rewards and Services, Lowe’s Companies, Inc
Michael C. McMillan, Executive Director, Market and Network Services, Cleveland Clinic

2:45 pm - 4:15 pm The Future of the Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical Industry – Where is it Headed Post Healthcare Reform

The Voluntary Benefits Industry is expected to have significant growth over the next few years specifically due to healthcare reform. Healthcare Reform significantly reduces insurance agents commissions and threatens their survival. Many of these agents will turn to voluntary benefits to make up their lost commissions. Employers will reduce certain non-essential benefit offerings due to increased health insurance premiums under healthcare reform, and this will result in the increase in employer offerings of voluntary benefits to employees.

Speakers:

Jim Davidson, EOI Service Company Inc

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm Prearranged Networking Meetings & Coffee (Plaza Pavilion)

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Employer Case Studies

6:15 pm - 7:45 pm VIP PARTY

“Nights of Arabia” Gala Networking Reception & Entertainment on Green Circle Terrace with VIP Entertainment