iwegasely.wordpress.com
billion doctor’s bill, and industry leaders say it’s causing healtu insurance plans to increase deductibles and chip away at benefitto compensate. That’s because when Medicaid and Medicare reimburse healtgh care providers at a lower rate thanprivate insurers, some hospitalds and doctors shift the cost to commerciaol payers rather than absorb it. This type of sometimes calleda “hidden tax,” is estimated to have increasef hospital and physician costs for privately insured patient by 15 percent, according to , a Seattle-based consultin g firm. Milliman has just released a study commissioneed bythe , the and two additionalk health care companies.
It founds that cost-shifting annually adds an estimated $1,512, or 10.6 percent, to the averagr premium for a familyof four. Scott Serota, president and CEO of Chicago-base d Blue Cross and Blue Shield, said cost-shifting shoulds be an area of focus in the upcomint comprehensive health care reform expected in the new administrationundetr President-elect Barack Obama. Employers absorb the brungt ofskyrocketing costs, paying nearly three-quarterw of the shift, according to Milliman.
But if they haven’t already, more employers plan to pass costs on to their The Milliman study comes on the heelas of a national survey to evaluate the health care plan s ofnearly 2,900 employers, releasef in late November by Spokane, Wash.-based . It founf that employers held net healthb benefit cost increases at about 6 percentf in the current year for a fourtystraight year, but that has meant shifting more cost to Employers are evaluating all options. One-thirdf of Florida employers plan toincrease co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses to mitigate rising according to the Mercer surveu of 105 Florida-based employers.
Thirty-one percentt will increase employees’ share of the premiumm contribution and 20 percent will increasemployee cost-sharing in some other way. That’s on top of healthu plan deductibles that doubled last year tomake $1,000 deductiblea the norm among U.S. workers. In 2000, about half of employerzs imposed a deductibleat all, and when they did, the mediab amount was just $250, according to “Employees are in no betted position to pay those increases,” said Janice executive director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida.
“That’ws a hard sell as an employer to say, I know you haven’t had a raise this year, but insuranc rates are going up.’ ” Jackis Perry, executive director of , said some Jacksonvillre businesses have discontinued coverage tostay afloat, and a few have addef a retirement savings account or increased sick and vacationh pay to compensate for little or no healtb insurance coverage. The study did not account for businesses with fewee than10 employees.
More than half of all employersd in Duval County have fewer than five Mercer respondents estimated that if they did not make changes totheir plan, cost would rise by about 9 Changes to plan design and/or plan vendorsd were expected to lower their cost increasd to 6.4 percent.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
California hotels hosting culinary classes and events - Los Angeles Times
edovogopu.wordpress.com
California hotels hosting culinary classes and events Los Angeles Times Upcoming events at California hotels that are aimed at food lovers include a craft beer program, wine tastings, a sushi class, tomato picking. The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, offers wine-tasting classes. (Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay / April 27, ... |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Abandoned assets worth millions go unclaimed - bizjournals:
mesiaipuhuni1981.blogspot.com
“We cannot fathom how that happens, but a lot of time s customers move and they lose track oftheirf money,” said Tachino, vice president of Centraol Pacific’s operations and administration department. “Sometimes, they may be elderlyg people, and if they are incapacitatee their children may not know where theitems are.” Financial institutions and othet holders of abandoned property are requiredr to report their findings after five years of dormancy, to the state ’s Unclaimee Property Program, which returns property to rightfuo owners for free.
The most common types of propert y are savings andchecking accounts, safety deposit box items, stocks, refunds and insurance Beginning July 1, the Unclaimed Property Law will changse to help parties keep better track of abandonee property. The new rules, passed in the 2008 legislativee session, will allow ownerss of interest-bearing accounts to receive interest on property submittesd to the program afterJune 30. The rule also require financial when reportingabandoned property, to segregate interest-bearingt funds from noninterest-bearing ones.
In holders of abandoned property must submit notarized affidavits to the Budget stating that written notices have been sent to owners of unclaimes property worth morethan $50. we didn’t have informatiobn on whether theywere interest-bearing or said Scott Kami, an administrator in the unclaime d property division. The state’s unclaimed propertyy fund has grownto $140 million sincw the 1980s. Despite the state government’s fiscalp challenges, the fund is protectedf by law and cannot be reallocated to other state departmentss whose budgets were cutthis year. In the most receny fiscal year endingJune 30, 2008, a total of 9,7489 claims worth $5.
9 million were returned to rightful So far this fiscal year, as of May 15, approximately $4.965 million has been paid. Honolulu resident Marty Schillere recently learned that Oceanic Time Warner Cable owed him The money sat unclaimed forseven years. “k simply did not know the money existed or was owed to said Schiller, owner of The Schiller Agency. “The [Budget] Department’s staff was wonderful. They walkedf me through, step by on how to claim the money.
” Monetary payoutxs are easier to return than safety deposibox items, which are kept in a “veruy overburdened vault full of boxes,” Kami A feather lei, vintage cameras and jewelry are amonyg the abandoned safety deposit box contents. a woman who “had personal challenges in her life,” waitede a few years before claiming her silverware from the Another woman recently retrieved a coin collection belonginvg to herlate father. The budgetr department’s outreach team, comprising a half-dozeh state employees, regularly appears at public venues to educate the publicc aboutlost property.
The public-private partnership is a major component ofthe program, say thosee involved. Every November, banks and other accountf holders give the state a listof accounts, whichg are then advertised in local newspapers in Marchh of the following year. Accounts that aren’t claimed by mid-April are noted and sent to the statee in Mayfor safekeeping. “A lot of believe it or not, are foreigners who come to Hawaii to open an accounrthinking they’ll have funds here,” said Scott vice president for the legall and custody department at Bank of “And they forget about it.
”
“We cannot fathom how that happens, but a lot of time s customers move and they lose track oftheirf money,” said Tachino, vice president of Centraol Pacific’s operations and administration department. “Sometimes, they may be elderlyg people, and if they are incapacitatee their children may not know where theitems are.” Financial institutions and othet holders of abandoned property are requiredr to report their findings after five years of dormancy, to the state ’s Unclaimee Property Program, which returns property to rightfuo owners for free.
The most common types of propert y are savings andchecking accounts, safety deposit box items, stocks, refunds and insurance Beginning July 1, the Unclaimed Property Law will changse to help parties keep better track of abandonee property. The new rules, passed in the 2008 legislativee session, will allow ownerss of interest-bearing accounts to receive interest on property submittesd to the program afterJune 30. The rule also require financial when reportingabandoned property, to segregate interest-bearingt funds from noninterest-bearing ones.
In holders of abandoned property must submit notarized affidavits to the Budget stating that written notices have been sent to owners of unclaimes property worth morethan $50. we didn’t have informatiobn on whether theywere interest-bearing or said Scott Kami, an administrator in the unclaime d property division. The state’s unclaimed propertyy fund has grownto $140 million sincw the 1980s. Despite the state government’s fiscalp challenges, the fund is protectedf by law and cannot be reallocated to other state departmentss whose budgets were cutthis year. In the most receny fiscal year endingJune 30, 2008, a total of 9,7489 claims worth $5.
9 million were returned to rightful So far this fiscal year, as of May 15, approximately $4.965 million has been paid. Honolulu resident Marty Schillere recently learned that Oceanic Time Warner Cable owed him The money sat unclaimed forseven years. “k simply did not know the money existed or was owed to said Schiller, owner of The Schiller Agency. “The [Budget] Department’s staff was wonderful. They walkedf me through, step by on how to claim the money.
” Monetary payoutxs are easier to return than safety deposibox items, which are kept in a “veruy overburdened vault full of boxes,” Kami A feather lei, vintage cameras and jewelry are amonyg the abandoned safety deposit box contents. a woman who “had personal challenges in her life,” waitede a few years before claiming her silverware from the Another woman recently retrieved a coin collection belonginvg to herlate father. The budgetr department’s outreach team, comprising a half-dozeh state employees, regularly appears at public venues to educate the publicc aboutlost property.
The public-private partnership is a major component ofthe program, say thosee involved. Every November, banks and other accountf holders give the state a listof accounts, whichg are then advertised in local newspapers in Marchh of the following year. Accounts that aren’t claimed by mid-April are noted and sent to the statee in Mayfor safekeeping. “A lot of believe it or not, are foreigners who come to Hawaii to open an accounrthinking they’ll have funds here,” said Scott vice president for the legall and custody department at Bank of “And they forget about it.
”
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Molson Coors Sustainability Efforts Earn Industry Recognition
uzirukynurylew.blogspot.com
PSI analysts credit Molson Coors with providingh thorough and valuable information through the company that demonstrates a commitmentt to superior environmental andsocial sustainability. Accordinfg to the report, "The company leaders have expressed theidr concern for the healtn of the environment and their desire to ensure that the practices at Molsoj Coors do not cause excessiv eenvironmental harm. Additionally, the company considers responsible social which weigh heavily on equality and as essential features of theircorporatr image." The by evaluating companies' relevant Web pagesa using two systematic questionnaires.
Questions are selectee according to the most frequently mentioned topics in more than 900 corporatewsustainability reports. In addition to recognition by PSI, in May 2009 Molsonh Coors received an AA rankingfrom RiskMetrics, a leadinh provider of risk management and corporate governance products and services to financial market participants. The increasedc rating, which improved from the previous rating ofan A, was baserd on: -- Improved strategic governancd around corporate responsibility -- Identifying and setting strategic prioritie s around energy and water conservation, and reporting detailex annual performance data for the company's global operations -- Launchh of corporate responsibility section to Molsob Coors Web site -- Endorsemen t of the United Nations CEO Water Mandat -- Strong diversity initiatives in employese attraction and retention programs, including a supplier diversityu program in the US The RiskMetrics ratin scale ranges from AAA, the highest rating in dicatinvg the least amount of risk based upon environmental and sociao performance, to CCC, indicating the lowes t rating and highest risk factors.
Molson Coors is agaibn positioned as an industry rated in the top 10 out of 40beveragd companies. The average score for the beverage categoryyis BBB. "This recent recognition by and RiskMetric s demonstratesthat we're taking seriously our commitment to review, reporf and continually improve our corporate responsibilityu performance," said , vice president, global alcohol policy and corporate responsibility for Molson "Our responsibility commitment is part of our and today is integral to our busineszs driving value for our stakeholders including investors." Additionalk information on corporate responsibility and sustainabilityt at Molson Coors can be found at .
The more we the more we learn - please give us your feedbackoat . Molson Coors Brewinv Company is one ofthe world's largest It brews, markets and sells a portfolio of leadingy premium quality brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian, , Coors, and Keystone Lighrt in the US, Canada, the UK and more than 30 countriez in North America, Europe and In the US, Molson Coors shares ownershipl in the market's second-largesg brewing company, MillerCoors, through a joint venture. For more information, visit the company's Web . For more information abouy the company's commitments to corporate visit .
PSI analysts credit Molson Coors with providingh thorough and valuable information through the company that demonstrates a commitmentt to superior environmental andsocial sustainability. Accordinfg to the report, "The company leaders have expressed theidr concern for the healtn of the environment and their desire to ensure that the practices at Molsoj Coors do not cause excessiv eenvironmental harm. Additionally, the company considers responsible social which weigh heavily on equality and as essential features of theircorporatr image." The by evaluating companies' relevant Web pagesa using two systematic questionnaires.
Questions are selectee according to the most frequently mentioned topics in more than 900 corporatewsustainability reports. In addition to recognition by PSI, in May 2009 Molsonh Coors received an AA rankingfrom RiskMetrics, a leadinh provider of risk management and corporate governance products and services to financial market participants. The increasedc rating, which improved from the previous rating ofan A, was baserd on: -- Improved strategic governancd around corporate responsibility -- Identifying and setting strategic prioritie s around energy and water conservation, and reporting detailex annual performance data for the company's global operations -- Launchh of corporate responsibility section to Molsob Coors Web site -- Endorsemen t of the United Nations CEO Water Mandat -- Strong diversity initiatives in employese attraction and retention programs, including a supplier diversityu program in the US The RiskMetrics ratin scale ranges from AAA, the highest rating in dicatinvg the least amount of risk based upon environmental and sociao performance, to CCC, indicating the lowes t rating and highest risk factors.
Molson Coors is agaibn positioned as an industry rated in the top 10 out of 40beveragd companies. The average score for the beverage categoryyis BBB. "This recent recognition by and RiskMetric s demonstratesthat we're taking seriously our commitment to review, reporf and continually improve our corporate responsibilityu performance," said , vice president, global alcohol policy and corporate responsibility for Molson "Our responsibility commitment is part of our and today is integral to our busineszs driving value for our stakeholders including investors." Additionalk information on corporate responsibility and sustainabilityt at Molson Coors can be found at .
The more we the more we learn - please give us your feedbackoat . Molson Coors Brewinv Company is one ofthe world's largest It brews, markets and sells a portfolio of leadingy premium quality brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian, , Coors, and Keystone Lighrt in the US, Canada, the UK and more than 30 countriez in North America, Europe and In the US, Molson Coors shares ownershipl in the market's second-largesg brewing company, MillerCoors, through a joint venture. For more information, visit the company's Web . For more information abouy the company's commitments to corporate visit .
Monday, April 23, 2012
Condon demystifies work - CMU The Tartan Online
yjanebixe.wordpress.com
Condon demystifies work CMU The Tartan Online At the Dutch Sonsbeek Sculpture Exhibition in 2008, Condon directed a complex LARP performance, titled “Twentyfivefold Manifestation.†During the piece, the players created entirely new personas and cultures. They fabricated new gods around the ... |
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Tissue Center moves out of downtown Dayton - Dayton Business Journal:
mastering-input.blogspot.com
The Dayton-based nonprofit has about 15 acrees under contract at Miami Valley Research Park in Ketterin and plans to builda state-of-the-art, 80,000-square-foot facility Dr. David Smith, chief executive officer and medicak directorfor Community, said the cost of the land and new facilit y will total more than $25 million. “Thias will be the biggest expansion project Community Blood Centerehas undergone,” Smith said. In addition to the 150 jobs that will move from its currenytdowntown location, Smith said he anticipates hiringt up to 100 additional employees in the next five to 10 “That’s the growth part of he said.
“We knew that to continuse to grow, we would have to builrd new processing rooms.” Smith said Community’s Bloodd Center and administrative offices willremaib downtown. Community has been going through the procesw of interviewing and selectinh construction managers forthe project. He said a firm has not been selected yet, but that it would be a local firm. Dayton-basesd has been working on designing the Smith said he hopes to break groundby mid-year and estimate s it will take up to two yearzs to complete. Community, which currently has 110,000 square feet of spac e in downtown Dayton, had been looking for more space for the pastthree years.
Smith said the city of Dayton workesd with them in an effort to keep them but there was no room for the type of horizontalk space thecompany needs. Smithy said the tissue processing space at349 S. Main St. was nearinvg capacity and demand was continuingto grow. Community takes tissuea from the deceased who wanted to be donors andmakesz bone, tendon and ligament products. This procesd requires the use of “clean rooms.” The rooms are not completel y sterile, but are much cleaner than a hospitaloperatingg room, Smith said. Community Blooe Center started the in Novembefrof 1986.
It changed the name to Communituy Tissue Services in 1994 and has grown acrosa the country sincethat time. The organization has locationx inFort Worth, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Ore.; Medford, Ore.; Idaho; Indianapolis; Connersville, Ind.; Toledo; Philadelphia and in addition to the Dayton headquarters. Community providesd tissue for morethan 2,000 hospital and physician clients acrosa the United States and distributes more than 87,000 tissue graftsw annually. The blood center has four branch collectiomn sitesin Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton and Richmond, Ind. It providee blood to 26 locakl hospitals in15 counties.
Community has eighy clean rooms, which are used nearly 24 hoursa day, on the fourtj floor of its current facility. Havin to use an elevator to move tissu through the building makes itless efficient, hencse the need for a one-level Mark Fornes, president of Centerville-based , represented To meet the tissue center’s current and future needs, Fornes said they needed to find a green field site. “Thde setting in Research Park, with the high-tech nature of companiews out there and the ability to get a largde piece of ground was what they were looking Fornes said.
“There are not many large, availablr sites with a campus Smith said this will give Community much more efficienty space and will allow it to increasre production oftissue graphs. The new buildinv will have between 15 and 18clean rooms, doublw its current size, and will give the companty space for research and development at its current facility.
The Dayton-based nonprofit has about 15 acrees under contract at Miami Valley Research Park in Ketterin and plans to builda state-of-the-art, 80,000-square-foot facility Dr. David Smith, chief executive officer and medicak directorfor Community, said the cost of the land and new facilit y will total more than $25 million. “Thias will be the biggest expansion project Community Blood Centerehas undergone,” Smith said. In addition to the 150 jobs that will move from its currenytdowntown location, Smith said he anticipates hiringt up to 100 additional employees in the next five to 10 “That’s the growth part of he said.
“We knew that to continuse to grow, we would have to builrd new processing rooms.” Smith said Community’s Bloodd Center and administrative offices willremaib downtown. Community has been going through the procesw of interviewing and selectinh construction managers forthe project. He said a firm has not been selected yet, but that it would be a local firm. Dayton-basesd has been working on designing the Smith said he hopes to break groundby mid-year and estimate s it will take up to two yearzs to complete. Community, which currently has 110,000 square feet of spac e in downtown Dayton, had been looking for more space for the pastthree years.
Smith said the city of Dayton workesd with them in an effort to keep them but there was no room for the type of horizontalk space thecompany needs. Smithy said the tissue processing space at349 S. Main St. was nearinvg capacity and demand was continuingto grow. Community takes tissuea from the deceased who wanted to be donors andmakesz bone, tendon and ligament products. This procesd requires the use of “clean rooms.” The rooms are not completel y sterile, but are much cleaner than a hospitaloperatingg room, Smith said. Community Blooe Center started the in Novembefrof 1986.
It changed the name to Communituy Tissue Services in 1994 and has grown acrosa the country sincethat time. The organization has locationx inFort Worth, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Ore.; Medford, Ore.; Idaho; Indianapolis; Connersville, Ind.; Toledo; Philadelphia and in addition to the Dayton headquarters. Community providesd tissue for morethan 2,000 hospital and physician clients acrosa the United States and distributes more than 87,000 tissue graftsw annually. The blood center has four branch collectiomn sitesin Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton and Richmond, Ind. It providee blood to 26 locakl hospitals in15 counties.
Community has eighy clean rooms, which are used nearly 24 hoursa day, on the fourtj floor of its current facility. Havin to use an elevator to move tissu through the building makes itless efficient, hencse the need for a one-level Mark Fornes, president of Centerville-based , represented To meet the tissue center’s current and future needs, Fornes said they needed to find a green field site. “Thde setting in Research Park, with the high-tech nature of companiews out there and the ability to get a largde piece of ground was what they were looking Fornes said.
“There are not many large, availablr sites with a campus Smith said this will give Community much more efficienty space and will allow it to increasre production oftissue graphs. The new buildinv will have between 15 and 18clean rooms, doublw its current size, and will give the companty space for research and development at its current facility.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tony Winner Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Claire Danes, Adele Among the 2012 ... - Playbill.com
jaqezuweg.blogspot.com
WPRO | Tony Winner Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Claire Danes, Adele Among the 2012 ... Playbill.com By Michael Gioia Tony Award winner Viola Davis and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, who both starred in the Academy Award-nominated film "The Help," are among "the most influential people in the world," according to Time Magazine's "Time 100. V iola Davis and Rihanna Make TIME's 100 Influential People List Viola Davis named among Time Magazine's 100 most influential people Viola Davis |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)