The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF, TSX: SLF)
today confirmed a group of six expert panelists for its first Sun Life
Wake Up Summit on health care reform. Each brings a specific area of
expertise and point of view to the health care conversation,
guaranteeing a broad perspective on a complex issue affecting brokers,
employers and employees.
The panel for this in-depth program, scheduled for October 1, features
the foremost benefits and health care policy experts, who will lead
thought-provoking discussions about the changing U.S. workplace and
provide insurance brokers and employers with practical advice on how to
prepare for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The issue is taking on added
urgency, as public health insurance exchanges are scheduled to open for
business on October 1.
Esteemed panelists include:
Michael W. Ferguson, COO of the non-profit Self Insurance
Institute of America: promotes self-insurance as an alternative risk
transfer strategy for employers looking to finance their group care and
worker’s compensation.
Carol Harnett, Health and disability consultant and employee
benefits expert: creates strategies to decrease or maintain benefits
costs, improve employee performance and improve corporate profitability.
Barbara Gniewek, Principal in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global
Human Resource Practice and consultant to providers and purchasers:
consults with mid-size and large employers on all aspects of health plan
strategy.
Dr. Jeff Bauer, Health futurist and medical economist:
focuses on the future of health care and practical approaches to
improving health care delivery.
Anat Baron, Former Head of Mike's Hard Lemonade and change
strategist: expert in reacting to and exploiting change in business.
Coleman H. Peterson, CEO of HR consultancy Hollis Enterprises and
former Chief Human Resource Officer at Wal-Mart: expert in recruitment,
development and retention of very large workforces, stressing leadership
development and diversity.
“We are honored to feature such a varied group of experts for our first
Sun Life Wake Up Summit,” said Wes Thompson, president of Sun Life
Financial U.S. “When it comes to health care reform, we know that having
one piece of the puzzle is insufficient. Brokers, employers and HR
professionals need the whole puzzle to make decisions that are right for
them. We’re confident that the diversity of these panels will provide
attendees with a 360-degree view of the ACA.”
The first panel, “Health Care Reform: A Practical Guide for Your
Company,” featuring Ferguson, Harnett, Gniewek, Dr. Bauer and
Coleman, will focus on what brokers, employers and HR professionals need
to consider in the short term regarding the ACA, including common
misconceptions about reform, the best and worst aspects of the law,
dealing with its complexities, impact and opportunity for brokers and
how to tame unintended consequences.
The second panel, “Health Care 2020: What Will Tomorrow’s Health Care
Look Like?” will bring together Dr. Bauer, Coleman and Baron for a
discussion on the future of health care and workplace benefits,
including how practices being implemented today will change the American
workplace of 2020.
“Sun Life wants to change the way people think and talk about employee
benefits,” Thompson said. “The Sun Life Wake Up Summit is one part of
this strategy—bringing together some of the smartest minds in the fields
of insurance and health care reform to have thoughtful discussions about
one of the most defining issues of our time,”
Juan Williams, Emmy Award-winning journalist and Fox News Contributor,
will moderate the panels, which will be preceded by a keynote address, “Health
Care Reform Now: Facts, Rumors, True Stories,” by Dr. Jonathan
Gruber. Dr. Gruber is an M.I.T. professor of economics, renowned health
care expert and key advisor on both Massachusetts’ health care reform
legislation and the ACA. His keynote will address the economic
principles behind reform, its goals and how it works in practice.
The Sun Life Wake Up Summit will take place on Tuesday, October 1 from
1:00-4:00pm ET. it will be broadcast in front of a live studio audience
from WCVB TV-5 studios in Needham, Mass. and streamed live from Sun
Life’s U.S. website. Brokers, HR professionals, third-party
administrators and business owners interested in attending the Sun Life
Wake Up Summit can register for the entire program or individual
segments at http://www.sunlife.com/wakeup
and can follow on twitter using #SLFSummit.
Follow Sun Life Financial in the U.S. at www.twitter.com/sunlifeus,
www.facebook.com/SLFunitedstates
or www.linkedin/com/company/sun-life-financial.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading
international financial services organization providing a diverse range
of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to
individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners
today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China, and Bermuda. In the United States and
elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the Sun Life
Financial group that are insurance companies. Sun Life Financial Inc.,
the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a
public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer
insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does
not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. In
the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and
services to employers and their employees, including Group and Voluntary
Life, Disability, Dental, Critical Illness, Accident, and Stop-Loss
insurance products. Product offerings may not be available in all states
and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. Sun Life Financial
Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE)
stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information,
please visit www.sunlife.com/us.
SLPC 25356 9/13 (exp. 9/18)
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