Aetna Health Insurance announced they are leaving the California marketplace for individual and family plans. The end date of all their plans is December 31, 2013. All 49,000 Aetna clients still have six months to figure out what health plan they should move to. In this article we’ll give you a simple mapping that recommends which plans you should move to based upon the Aetna health plan you currently have, a “gotcha” to watch out for, and a couple of silver linings to feel good about.The simplest way to replace your Aetna Health Insurance is to simply look for an alternative plan with the same (or similar) deductible amount. The recommendations below will make that easy to do. With just a little more effort, you could re-think what you need in yearly medical benefits and pick a plan the is a better fit for your current needs. Either way, you should be able to find a good solution listed below.Aetna Health Insurance Underwriting Is More LenientThis will be the gotcha for some people. Aetna has always been more willing to accept people with some health conditions. I know a number of my clients are in Aetna plans because they had specific health conditions that the other carriers either would not accept, or would “rate” much higher than Aetna. So this is something you have to be aware of and be careful about.If you have existing health conditions, or are “too short” (okay… a little over-weight), or have a rated plan with Aetna, then you should definitely talk to a broker before you apply with another health insurance company. You’ll want to have the broker do Pre-Screen Requests for you to see how the other insurance companies will treat your application.It’s important to do the pre-screen step first, because if you just pick a health plan, apply for it, and then get declined or rated even higher, it will be very hard to get other insurance companies to consider your application.Let’s start mapping replacement plans…Aetna Open Access MC Value Plan AlternativesThe Aetna Open Access Value plans are Aetna’s low-cost option. The Value plans offer a number of different deductibles, $8,000, $5,000, $2,500, and provide 3 office visits for a simple copay, and coverage for Generic prescriptions.This plan description matches very closely to what is offered in the Anthem Blue Cross SmartSense plans. If you only need two office visits rather than three, then the best choices are the Health Net PPO Advantage plans and the ClearProtection plan from Anthem Blue Cross.If cost of the plan is one of your major factors, then here is how the alternative plans above should be used.
Health Net PPO Advantage 3500 – offers the best overall value (cost vs benefits)
Health Net PPO Advantage 6500 – is usually the lowest cost option
Anthem Blue Cross ClearProtection 3300 – Anthem’s lowest cost solution
Anthem Blue Cross SmartSense 6000 – closest match to Aetna’s Open Access Value 8000, but lower cost
Anthem Blue Cross SmartSense 3500, 2000, 1000 – if you feel more comfortable with lower deductibles
In the majority of cases, the alternative plans from Anthem and Health Net will be lower cost than the comparable Aetna Value plans. You’ll need to review health insurance quotes to see how the pricing looks for your location in California.Aetna alternative plans from all major health insurance companies in California. The best plans!Aetna Open Access MC Plan AlternativesThe Open Access plans are Aetna’s high-end offerings. These plans offered unlimited office visits for just a copay, provided both Generic and Brand name prescription coverage, and offered deductibles of 5,000, 3,500, 2,750, and 1,750.The best mappings of the Open Access plans are the following:
Cigna Open Access Value plans – Cigna’s entry plans, but very similar to the Aetna plans but without brand name prescription coverage
Anthem Blue Cross Premier plans – these plans are the top of the line from Anthem
Cigna Open Access plans – the high-end Cigna plans
Blue Shield Shield Secure Plus plans – Blue Shield’s top end plans
Health Net does not have any plans that provide unlimited office visits and coverage of brand name prescriptions, so there are no options listed.Aetna Open Access MC High Deductible Plan (HSA Compatible) AlternativesThese are Aetna’s entry in the Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible market. Like all HSA plans, they provide no benefits except zero-cost preventive care until after you reach the deductible. The plans come with two deductibles, either 5,500 or $3,500.The mappings for these HSA plans is the following:
Health Net CFB HSA 4500 plan – this is the best value HSA plan in the market
Health Net CFB HSA 6000 plan – this is the overall lowest cost HSA plan
Blue Shield Saver HSA plans – these are lower cost than the other non-Health Net HSA plans
Cigna Health Savings 4900 plan – good general purpose plan
Anthem Blue Cross Lumenos 5950 plan – Anthem’s last remaining HSA plan
Are You Looking For Lower Out Of Pocket Risk?Some shoppers may be looking to lower premiums AND lower the OOPM’s they have had in the past. If this is your wish, then here are a couple of options you should explore:
Health Net CFB PPO Standard plans – the OOPM in these plans is equal to the deductible, and 2 office visits for a copay
Cigna Open Access Value 5000/100% – the OOPM is the same as the deductible, and the plan offers unlimited office visits
These alternative plans will cost a little more than the direct replacement options listed in the sections above. However, the attractiveness of having lower risk if an accident or a medical condition starts is very compelling.Silver Linings In The California Aetna Health Insurance DecisionI believe that Aetna is just the first in a line of large and small health insurance companies that will leave the California individual and family health insurance marketplace over the next 3-5 years. Aetna had a very small market share, and would have a hard time competing with the insurance companies that dominate the California market. So having Aetna leave now will reduce the turbulence we see during the Health Care Reform roll-out later this fall.The first silver lining in all of this is that Aetna plans tend to have very high Out-Of-Pocket Maximums (OOPM). As an example, for a family, the Open Access Value 8000 plan has an OOPM of $25,000, while the Anthem Blue Cross SmartSense 6000 plan and the ealth Net PPO Advantage 6500 have a $19,000 OOPM.This is one of the reasons people have stayed away from new Aetna plans unless no other health insurance company would accept them. There are plenty of plans from Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, and Blue Shield that will have lower OOPM’s than the Aetna plans.The last silver lining of this change at Aetna, is that Aetna plans have not been very competitive the last couple of years. So changing to comparable plans will give you a reduction in premiums. With the information we’ve given you above, you should be able to find a good Aetna replacement plan, now go forth and prosper.Aetna alternative plans from all major health insurance companies in California. The best plans!

IntroductionThe Government has announced a new initiative to help diversify business finance which will be led by UK industry experts from both the business and finance sectors.UK businesses still rely heavily on bank funding to help finance their business activities even though there are many alternative sources of funding available to them in today’s ever changing financial marketplace.The Government wants to ensure, in light of recent and current banking reforms, that the flow of finance to businesses is maintained. Alternative sources of finance will be crucial to help businesses deliver the wider economic growth the UK economy needs.The panel of experts will seek to establish a framework of alternative finance sources by working with businesses and business investors, financial institutions and providers of alternative finance to coordinate and facilitate the availability of funding that businesses need.Bank lendingEven though there has been a recorded increase in new lending from the largest banks this year many businesses are still unhappy with bank lending levels and how they have been treated by their banks.Tighter lending criteria, non-renewal of overdraft facilities and poor communication by the banks are the common problems cited by businesses as making their funding objectives difficult to achieve.Without the finance they need, UK businesses struggle to survive and grow, and so the UK economy does the same. This is why the Government is not only introducing schemes to increase bank lending but is also keen to encourage as much competition in the financial market as possible and provide a wide range of alternative sources of finance to UK businesses.Alternative financeThere is already a wide range of alternative finance sources available to businesses.One of the biggest barriers to increasing the take up of these sources of finance is simply general awareness. New and emerging providers of alternative financial products do not have the branch infrastructure that makes for the efficient and effective distribution of their products.The other important factor here is that many owners and managers of small and medium sized businesses, which are the backbone of the UK economy, are unaware of the range of alternative finance available and where to find it.New methods of communication are required and it is hoped this will be a key objective of the Government’s initiative.Invoice FinanceInvoice finance is one of the most popular options in the alternative finance portfolio and has grown over the last fifteen years from about 13,000 companies using it in the UK to over 50,000 companies now.This extremely flexible method of business finance advances funds against unpaid sales invoices. There are variations within the invoice finance family of products which includes invoice factoring and invoice discounting.The invoice finance lenders will advance up to 95% against a company’s unpaid sales invoices and use the sales ledger as security by taking assignation of the invoice and so the outstanding debt is effectively owned by them.When the invoice is paid by the company’s customer the invoice finance company will pay over the balance of the invoice that has not been funded after deducting their fees. There is usually a charge for the facility and an interest charge for the amount of funding advanced.One of the main benefits of invoice finance is that the facility will grow as the business grows thus making it a very effective method of funding working capital.

What does FedEx, Pfizer, Wachovia, 3Com, Mellon Financial, Shurgard Storage, Sempra Energy and Proctor & Gamble have in common? What board committee exists for only 10% of publicly traded companies but generates 6.5% greater returns for those companies? What is the single largest budget item after salaries and manufacturing equipment?Technology decisions will outlive the tenure of the management team making those decisions. While the current fast pace of technological change means that corporate technology decisions are frequent and far-reaching, the consequences of the decisions-both good and bad-will stay with the firm for a long time. Usually technology decisions are made unilaterally within the Information Technology (IT) group, over which senior management chose to have no input or oversight. For the Board of a business to perform its duty to exercise business judgment over key decisions, the Board must have a mechanism for reviewing and guiding technology decisions.A recent example where this sort of oversight would have helped was the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) mania of the mid-1990′s. At the time, many companies were investing tens of millions of dollars (and sometimes hundreds of millions) on ERP systems from SAP and Oracle. Often these purchases were justified by executives in Finance, HR, or Operations strongly advocating their purchase as a way of keeping up with their competitors, who were also installing such systems. CIO’s and line executives often did not give enough thought to the problem of how to make a successful transition to these very complex systems. Alignment of corporate resources and management of organizational change brought by these new systems was overlooked, often resulting in a crisis. Many billions of dollars were spent on systems that either should not have been bought at all or were bought before the client companies were prepared.Certainly, no successful medium or large business can be run today without computers and the software that makes them useful. Technology also represents one of the single largest capital and operating line item for business expenditures, outside of labor and manufacturing equipment. For both of these reasons, Board-level oversight of technology is appropriate at some level.Can the Board of Directors continue to leave these fundamental decisions solely to the current management team? Most large technology decisions are inherently risky (studies have shown less than half deliver on promises), while poor decisions take years to be repaired or replaced. Over half of the technology investments are not returning anticipated gains in business performance; Boards are consequently becoming involved in technology decisions. It is surprising that only ten percent of the publicly traded corporations have IT Audit Committees as part of their boards. However, those companies enjoy a clear competitive advantage in the form of a compounded annual return 6.5% greater than their competitors.Tectonic shifts are under way in how technology is being supplied, which the Board needs to understand. IT industry consolidation seriously decreases strategic flexibility by undercutting management’s ability to consider competitive options, and it creates potentially dangerous reliance on only a few key suppliers.The core asset of flourishing and lasting business is the ability to respond or even anticipate the impact of outside forces. Technology has become a barrier to organizational agility for a number of reasons:o Core legacy systems have calcified
o IT infrastructure has failed to keep pace with changes in the business
o Inflexible IT architecture results in a high percentage of IT expenditure on maintenance of existing systems and not enough on new capabilities
o Short term operational decisions infringe on business’s long term capability to remain competitiveTraditional Boards lack the skills to ask the right questions to ensure that technology is considered in the context of regulatory requirements, risk and agility. This is because technology is a relatively new and fast-growing profession. CEOs have been around since the beginning of time, and financial counselors have been evolving over the past century. But technology is so new, and its cost to deploy changes dramatically, that the technology profession is still maturing. Technologists have worked on how the systems are designed and used to solve problems facing the business. Recently, they recognized a need to understand and be involved in the business strategy. The business leader and the financial leader neither have history nor experience utilizing technology and making key technology decisions. The Board needs to be involved with the executives making technology decisions, just as the technology leader needs Board support and guidance in making those decisions.Recent regulatory mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley have changed the relationship of the business leader and financial leader. They in turn are asking for similar assurances from the technology leader. The business leader and financial leader have professional advisors to guide their decisions, such as lawyers, accountants and investment bankers. The technologist has relied upon the vendor community or consultants who have their own perspective, and who might not always be able to provide recommendations in the best interests of the company. The IT Audit Committee of the Board can and should fill this gap.What role should the IT Audit Committee play in the organization? The IT Audit function in the Board should contribute toward:1. Bringing technology strategy into alignment with business strategy.
2. Ensuring that technology decisions are in the best interests of shareholders.
3. Fostering organizational development and alignment between business units.
4. Increasing the Board’s overall understanding of technological issues and consequences within the company. This type of understanding cannot come from financial analysis alone.
5. Effective communication between the technologist and the Committee members.The IT Audit Committee does not require additional board members. Existing board members can be assigned the responsibility, and use consultants to help them understand the issues sufficiently to provide guidance to the technology leader. A review of existing IT Audit Committee Charters shows the following common characteristics:1. Review, evaluate and make recommendations on technology-based issues of importance to the business.
o Appraise and critically review the financial, tactical and strategic benefits of proposed major technology related projects and technology architecture alternatives.
o Oversee and critically review the progress of major technology related projects and technology architecture decisions.
2. Advise the senior technology management team at the firm
3. Monitor the quality and effectiveness of technology systems and processes that relate to or affect the firm’s internal control systems.Fundamentally, the Board’s role in IT Governance is to ensure alignment between IT initiatives and business objectives, monitor actions taken by the technology steering committee, and validate that technology processes and practices are delivering value to the business. Strategic alignment between IT and the business is fundamental to building a technology architectural foundation that creates agile organizations. Boards should be aware of technological risk exposures, management’s assessment of those risks, and mitigation strategies considered and adopted.There are no new principles here-only affirmation of existing governance charters. The execution of technology decisions falls upon the management of the organization. The oversight of management is the responsibility of the Board. The Board needs to take appropriate ownership and become proactive in governance of the technology.Do Boards need a Technology Audit committee? Yes, a Technology Audit Committee within the Board is warranted because it will lead to technology/business alignment. It is more than simply the right thing to do; it is a best practice with real bottom-line benefits.

Whether you’re looking for work outside the normal nine-to-five or just need a change of scene, you might be thinking of a career in the travel and tourism industry. This kind of work allows you to earn money while traveling the world– gaining both life experience and work experience in the places you’ve always wanted to see. There are a variety of jobs available in the travel and tourism sector. Below, you’ll see just a few of the most popular ones. For more travel and tourism career opportunities, do a Google search, or maybe visit http://www.traveljobsearch.com/ for a list of current open positions.Travel AgentOne of the most obvious and traditional choices when considering a career in tourism is working as a travel agent. Though in recent years vacation planning via the internet has become increasingly popular, travel agents help to simplify what is still a complicated process. They give advice on destinations, book flights, rental cars, hotels, and tours, and provide information about visas, customs, etc., for international travel.While working as a travel agent might not provide as many travel opportunities or freedom as other tourism-related careers, about 15% of travel agents are self-employed, allowing them to choose their location and set their own hours. This can be a good career for somebody looking for stability and self-employment opportunities.Travel Writer or PhotographerIf you have a flair for language or a talent with the camera, you might want to consider a career as a travel writer or photographer. Travel writers visit cities and countries around the world, writing stories and taking pictures of the places and cultures they experience. Unfortunately, travel writing is a difficult industry to break into, but once you do it, you can expect a lifetime if travel, adventure, and doing what you love.Flight AttendantsOne of the most glamorous jet-setting careers you can have is working as a flight attendant. Flight attendants have the opportunity to travel the world, often living in multiple cities, while earning a generous hourly wage of around $18 the first year to $28 the fifth year (Continental). It’s important to note, however, that there is a lot of competition for this type of work, and only a few make it past the first interview. And language skills are a must! Most airlines look for flight attendants fluent in at least two languages.Cruise Ship StaffThe cruise industry is one of the fastest-growing in the travel industry, and work on cruise ships has become a highly sought-after career. This kind of work allows you to see the world while working in housekeeping, security, food/beverage service, entertainment, retail, and many more. Pay ranges anywhere from $500-600 per month for a dish washer, to $4,800-6,400 per month for chief on-board doctor. This, of course, includes room and board, which makes even the lowest salary seem more generous.

No matter how careful you handle your finances, there comes a time when you are in need of urgent financial help. A payday loan can relieve you of your financial crisis and help you move forward when you seem to run out of lending options.A payday loan or cash advance is an unsecured, short-term cash loan to help you until your next paycheck. The payday advance can be used at your own discretion to pay off bills, or cover small unexpected expenses while avoiding costly bounced-check fees and late payment penalties.Contrary to qualifying for traditional credit, there are no credit checks performed when applying for a payday advance, which makes it quite easier to get cash even with bad credit.However, to qualify for a paycheck cash advance loan, you will have to;*Be currently employed or receive regular income.
*Make at least $1000/month.
*Be 18 years of age or older and a U.S. citizen.
*Have a checking or savings account with direct deposit.Your first loan will be based on the information you provide in your application and you may borrow up to $1500.The fees charged are often very competitive and in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. Depending on the lender, fees can range from $25 to $30 per $100 borrowed. For example, if you borrow $300 then the fee will be between $75 and $90.There are however, no charges to apply or qualify for a payday advance.To apply for a payday loan, you will fill an online application form and provide personal information such as your name, address, employment information, banking details, and picture identification in order to complete your payday loan request.The application process is highly secured to maintain the safety of your personal information, and all sensitive data transmitted uses 128 bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology.The application process requires no faxing meaning, there is no need to fax any personal details since the lending company will instantly get all the necessary information online.Once you have provided and submitted all the necessary information, your loan application will be processed within 30 minutes upon being received.Submitting an application does not obligate you to take out a loan, but simply states that you wish for an agent to approve and contact you to discuss your payday loan options. You may ask any questions or withdraw your request if you so choose.Once approved, you will receive an email notification and may collect your loan the next business day. Your bank account must be set up with direct deposit to qualify for a cash advance since it is the most secure and quick way to offer loans.At the same time, you will get a scheduled repayment date so you will not have to worry about bouncing a check or missing a payment deadline.Each state has different rules and regulations regarding loan due dates. Typically, repayment is scheduled on your next payday (between 8 and 25 days away).All payday loans must be repaid before you can be granted another cash advance meaning you cannot have more than one payday loan at a time.Paying off your loan before the scheduled due date may entitle you to a partial refund of your loan fee. However, if you cannot repay the full loan amount by the due date, it is possible to request for a loan extension.In paying back the loan, you can either opt to;*Pay off the full loan on the maturity date listed per your loan agreement,
*Pay the finance fee and a portion of the loan principle on or before the maturity date,
*Or pay only the finance fee on the maturity date.Payday loans are always available online when you need financial assistance but keep in mind that such loans are a short-term solution to an urgent need for cash, and should not be repeatedly used to deal with continuous budgeting issues.Get up to $1500 cash in minutes with 100% secure online application, no credit checks, no faxing required, instant approval, and no hassles of any kind.

Perhaps the trend towards smaller gardens makes good design even more important. It is often said that designing a small garden is more difficult than designing a large one. In a small space there can be issues of privacy; the need to disguise borders whilst still maintaining enough usable space. Choice of plants is critical because each plant has to earn its living in more than one way – a small tree, such as Amelanchier lamarckii, for instance, will provide spring blossom, attractive spring foliage, summer shade, autumn colour and winter structure – a shrub such as Choisya ternata will be evergreen, provide spring flowers, sometimes with a second flush in September, and a gorgeous scent when its leaves are brushed, whereas something like an oriental poppy (Papaver orientale), spectacular though its flowers are, will only bloom for a short period, and leave behind rather scruffy foliage for the rest of the season, or a hole if it is cut down, and in any case dies down in winter. It really doesn’t earn its keep where interest needs to be maintained throughout the year within a limited space. Although the space is small, planting should not be limited to small plants which can make the space seem even smaller. Climbers are an essential ingredient in a small garden, and this is where green roofs and living walls come into their own. Gardens in built up areas can be very sheltered, so allowing a wider range of less hardy plants to be grown, on the other hand, they can be very shady, which offers its own set of planting opportunities. Good design will maximise the opportunities presented by any setting, and create a coherent space, full of interest that offers an enhanced quality of life.However, budget may be another problem. Garden designers, like everyone else, are facing recession. It may be difficult to persuade people to splash out on what is seen as a luxury, and when they do decide to invest in having their garden designed, the budgets available may constrain the design. We have to be inventive about how we retain the quality of design whilst limiting the cost, for instance by specifying smaller but faster growing trees, rather than spending money on mature specimens. Garden designers are also having to diversify by looking towards designing public spaces, writing, teaching, supplying plants and offering garden maintenance as supplementary sources of income.Some of the public spaces garden designers have been called upon to design in recent years include hospital and hospice gardens, and there is a growing interest in the impact of gardens on health and well-being. According to a paper presented by Roger S. Ulrich PhD, to the International Exhibition Floriade conference ‘Plants for People’, entitled “Health Benefits of Gardens in Hospitals”, there are significant benefits to patients of viewing environments dominated by greenery, flowers or water, in terms of reducing stress, diminishing stressful thoughts, promoting recovery, elevating positive emotions and reducing negative emotions such as fear, anger and sadness. These can be measured in terms of blood pressure, heart activity, muscle tension and brain electrical activity. There is also a decrease in anxiety, pain and the length of stay in hospital when an appropriately designed garden is provided, and an increase in levels of patient satisfaction. As far as the design goes, an over dominance of hardlandscaping at the expense of planting, is detrimental to these positive outcomes, and abstract, ambiguous artworks can aggravate stress rather than reduce it. So concentrating on planting and natural scenery seems to be the best policy for a designer, which allows him or her plenty of scope to think about appealing to the senses – sight, sound and smell through the use of scented plants, water for sound, making the garden attractive to birds which will sing, choosing plants for year round colour, texture and movement. Soft and gentle colours, avoiding any violent clashes, may provide a calm and stress-reducing atmosphere, such as greens, lavenders, pinks and blues, although gentle yellows and whites can also be uplifting. The garden needs to be calming and relaxing, but still retain interest.Gardens can also have a beneficial effect on mental health. Having the opportunity to work in a garden can be therapeutic, and at a time of growing obesity, any outdoor activity can help. Children, it is often said, are becoming out of touch with where food comes from and garden designers can help by designing public and private spaces that put them back in touch with nature and consider their educational and play needs. What children need most from a garden setting is space to play. Quite aside from all the play equipment such as trampolines, swings, tree-houses, Wendy houses, sandpits, swimming pools or paddling pools that can be provided, just having a range of colours, textures, sizes and shapes of plants can provide a stimulating environment. Places to hide, shrubberies to build dens in, mud to dig in are all play opportunities. Tall grasses and tall perennials that tower over the children’s heads, with paths winding through can be magical, as can very small plants. Conkers, acorns or cobnuts to collect, and ponds to do pond dipping are all stimulating and educational opportunities. A garden is a good way of introducing children to wildlife, and no child’s education can be complete without having the chance to grow something from seed. Of course, as designers we must take into account safety issues, including putting a grate over ponds, making sure boundaries are secure, and not planting the most poisonous plants, although no garden can be completely risk free, and there are so many poisonous plants, it is better to educate children not to eat them than trying to avoid them altogether.Good garden design can be so beneficial to society that it should thrive in the 21st century in spite of recession.