If one of the "hats" you wear is "insurance-buyer" for your bank, then this is the book for you. This book is written for bankers who buy insurance for their banks. Hundreds of definitions, forms, charts, suggestions, recommendations, and just plain good advice - for bankers. The language of insurance is demystified and translated into banker-speak. Scott Simmonds has worked with more than 370 banks in his career as a consultant. Bankers look to Scott to help make their insurance better - better coverage, better premiums, easier administration, and faster claims. Unbiased, expert bank-experience. In this second edition of his book, you get his latest thoughts, ideas, and approaches. One hundred updates were made from the 2007 version. Scott has received many industry awards and designations, making him one of the top 1% of insurance professionals in the country. Scott's ideas have been published and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Forbes, The Boston Globe, and the Ellsworth American. He is a past president of his local Rotary Club, and of the Maine Association of Professional Consultants.

Confused, Bewildered, Perplexed and Unsure about your Medicare Options?

Updated and expanded for 2014

Are you turning 65 in 2014? Looking for a resource guide that helps you to navigate the maze of Medicare choices available to you? Want a clear and concise book which will answer all your questions? It's not the answers you already know, it's the questions you don't even know to ask Questions you might be thinking about? When can I enroll in Medicare? Does Medicare cover everything I might need? Is Medicare free? What's the difference between copayments and coinsurance? Are there any deductibles? Are there any penalties for not enrolling? What's an AEP, IEP, SEP, OEP and everything else? Can I make changes to what I already have? What are the costs for Medicare? What's the difference between a Med Supp plan and a Medicare Advantage plan? What's a Medigap plan? How do I get my prescriptions paid for in Medicare? What's a donut hole? What is TrOOP? What is MOOP? Does Medicare cover long term care needs?

Click the book cover to "Look Inside" to read the first 10% of the book free. Who might benefit from the information and tools contained in this book? You're going to be turning age 65 in 2014. You're already enrolled in Medicare and want to know what other options you have. You want a comprehensive resource guide about Medicare benefits and Medicare health plans. You're a healthcare professional who wants to learn more about Medicare. Retirement Planning and Medicare

Healthcare expenses can torpedo your retirement savings if these costs are not properly taken into account. Thinking portfolio returns will exceed the potential health care expenses should extensive medical care be needed is ignoring financial market reality. Additional information is included covering: The Medicaid Program Choices for Long-Term Care What you Need to Know Before you Buy Planning the Medicare Buying Decision Additional Resources

The insurance industry has changed, consumers have changed, the competition has changed, communication has changed...BUT MOST INSURANCE AGENTS HAVE NOT With mass marketing and over $1 BILLION dollars spent on advertising last year alone by a few of the biggest players in the insurance industry, there's not a day that goes by that your clients and prospects aren't bombarded with messages from your competitors. Unfortunately, most of those messages focus on "cheap insurance," "saving money" or depict the agent as "outdated and useless." Consumers are being taught that the only difference between insurance providers is PRICE and the entire industry is being commoditized by direct writers trying to push the retail agency force into extinction Retail agents want to know how they can compete with the giants of advertising and mass marketing to keep their clients and grow their agencies. The unfortunate answer is that you simply can NOT compete in the price wars and mass marketing being done by the big industry advertisers. IF YOU TRY, YOU WILL LOSE However, you CAN beat them by communicating with your clients and prospects in ways that the big companies cannot. You CAN use the new rules of communication and new methods to reach your clients and prospects that will set you apart as THE go-to insurance advisor in your area. Agents need to break away from the price wars and commoditization and start creating experiences and relationships with their clients that are impossible to replace. You're in a fight for your agency's life. Whether you realize it or not, change in the insurance industry is going to continue at a rapid pace over the coming years. The big discounters will continue to increase their advertising and banks and other large corporations will join in to try and make the retail agent as irrelevant as possible. Consumers will rely more on the internet and social media for their research and communication with insurance companies and agents. Only the strongest agents who find new ways to communicate their value and set themselves apart will survive. You can do more than just survive, you can thrive in the coming years by becoming a 21st Century agent and using 21st Century Communication tools with your clients and prospects. You can be known in your community as an insurance expert and a trusted advisor that people seek out and want to do business with. You can learn: 1. The 3 jobs of a 21st Century agent that are vital to your success 2. Strategic ways to bring new sales to your door without having to chase them 3. How to keep clients married to your agency for life 4. How to create top of mind awareness with clients and prospects 5. The seven questions that every prospect wants to know before choosing an agent 6. How to overcome price as an objection to doing business with you 7. The 6 new rules of communication and how to use them with clients and prospects 8. 7 tools of 21st Century Communication 9. The best way to use social media with clients and prospects 10. How to set up online and social media tools and manage them in a few minutes 11. How to make old-school communication techniques new and relevant again 12. The secret to getting clients to consistently refer prospects to your agency 13. How to attract client cross-sales instead of constantly having to chase them 14. The importance of touching your clients 24 times per year and how to do it 15. The importance of a communication calendar and the formula that makes it easy 16. How to create "social influence" 17. Two easy formulas for writing communication pieces that clients want to read 18. The two most important things to concentrate your time, effort and energy on No one is going to make you grow, make you improve or make you keep up with the consumers and the insurance industry. But if you don't, it's just a matter of time before you get left behind.

The Affordable Health Care Act of (2010) is in the early stage of implementation as of late 2013. Commonly referred to as OBAMACARE, the health care program is designed to encourage millions of taxpayers and citizens to purchase some form of medical insurance coverage for each person including family members.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the most significant overhaul to health care industry in decades. It includes unprecedented reforms to the American health care system. The implementation of this new health care law, otherwise known as Obamacare is at the height of concern for many who still don't understand its implications. Among the sea of new information to sift through, there are also misconceptions about the expectations and implementations of this law. Whether you need health coverage or have it already you may be concerned about the new regulations and how they will affect you. Many low to middle income Americans will have access to more affordable health insurance but those making above 400% of the federal poverty will likely pay more. Although the law has been rolled out over several years, the most notable changes take effect in January of 2014. Included in these changes are rights and protections for you, the consumer. These protections, do not apply to every insurance policy equally. This guide is designed to help you navigate the changes in policies and the new requirements for individuals and businesses. We'll explain the changes being implemented and you'll discover if you qualify for reduced premiums, what will happen if you select not to purchase health care, and how to make compare plans and policies in your state.

The formation of health professionals is critical for the health system to function and to achieve its universal health coverage (UHC) goals, and this is well recognized by the majority of governments that plan to ensure enough training places and aim to regulate in order to ensure quality. But the importance of market forces is often overlooked, resulting in interventions and regulations that often fail to achieve their intended effects. This publication aims to inform the design of health professionals' education policies to better manage health labor market forces toward UHC. It documents what is known about the influence of market forces on the health-professional formation process. The report sought to answer the following questions: What have been the large global and regional trends in the development of health professions? How have these trends affected the career decisions of current and potential health professionals? What is the evidence base on the value and effectiveness of health professional education of different types? How has the market for health professional education evolved, and with what interrelationships with the health labor and health care markets? The contexts of the market for health professional training have been subject to important changes in recent decades, in particular: the growing extent of employment of mid-level cadres of health professionals; changes in technology and the associated growth of high skilled occupations; the increasing interconnectedness of national health systems through globalization, with its implications for international health professional mobility; and the greater complexity of the public-private mix in employment options. There is a need to ensure that market forces align with the intentions of planning and regulation and the needs of UHC goals. This publication provides recommendations to support the design of policies that help to achieve these.