---

January 2008

Table of Contents

California Healthcare Reform: A Few Slices Are Better Than None
by Alan Katz
• After months of wrangling, the odds are looking dim for a negotiated compromise on comprehensive healthcare reform this year.

How Agents May Fare in a New Healthcare Landscape
by Leila Morris
• Will insurance companies get rid of agents? It’s not likely.

Improving Care and ­Reducing Costs for the Chronically Ill
by Andrew Halpert, MD
• Providing disease management for people with extremely severe illnesses is critical to reducing medical costs.

Annuity Trends, Prospects, and Possibilities
by David Colburn, LUTCF
• Annuities have emerged as a truly important tool in the financial planning process.

Help Your Clients Understand Indexed Annuities
by Farshad M. Asl, CLTC
• Your clients could benefit from an indexed annuity if they want the potential of earning more than fixed guaranteed returns without risking principal and prior earnings.

Understanding Employers’ Expectations
by Karen Gustin, LLIF
• When you prepare benefit proposals, have you taken the time to understand the employer’s expectations?

Dental Plans: Focusing on Adolescents
by Andre Turnage
• Practicing good oral health is especially critical during the pre-teen and adolescent years.

Multicultural Healthcare Marketing
by Michael Soon Lee, MBA
• Some cultural assumptions cause many marketers to develop inaccurate perceptions of the populations they’re cultivating.

The Key to Ethnic Marketing is Universal
by Leila Morris
• We hear a lot about ethnic marketing. But what is it and what does it mean for the broker?

How Health Insurers Can Reach California’s Hispanic Community
by Russell Matsuda, Chrystal Seely, and Robert Fauver
• To promote health plans to an underserved population, companies must have cultural sensitivity and adjust their strategies to the values and beliefs of their audience.  

Multi-Dimensional Marketing
Leila Morris
• When we look at the latest studies, it’s clear that we need to go beyond general assumptions.

Listening to the Heartbeat of HSAs: Out Annual Survey
by Leila Morris
• Our respondents explain the specifics of their California HSA plans and explain how their plans have changed from last year.

How Health Savings Accounts Create Better Healthcare Purchasers
Jane Cooper
• As a benefit consultant, you can grow your book of business by bringing a successful CDHP strategy to prospects and clients.

IRS Says Most 419 Life Insurance Plans Are Now Abusive Tax Shelters
by Lance Wallach, CLU, ChFC, CIMC

New Options in the Universe of Indexed Life
by Ashley Snyder
• Indexed universal offers options and better performance for those who assume limited risk.

The Older We Get, the More Likely We Are To Be Disabled
by Kevin A. Roberts
• With the large mass of the Baby Boomer generation moving into older age, the temptation to recapture the fun of their youth will become a desire that will fuel an industry unto itself.

The Classics: Cars or Senior Citizens?
by Robert Trommler
• When considering stocks and bonds or reverse mortgages, seniors usually have a classic profile.

Reverse Mortgages: A Tax-Free Way to Fund Life Insurance and
Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums
by Celia j. Mason, JD, CSA
• A reverse mortgage may be a viable alternative to create liquidity for clients who are 60 or olde