FEATURED
In pursuit of pearly whites
BY LYNN GRESHAM
Cosmetic dentistry has been a staple of dental practices since the 1990s, when the widespread availability of teeth whitening products revolutionized the market. Even the Great Recession couldn’t vanquish vanity; steady consumer demand for teeth
bleaching, tooth-colored ;llings, implants and other cosmetic procedures has kept dentists
smiling even through tough economic times. It’s also helped keep dental bene;ts popular
and prompted some leading dental insurers to broaden plan coverage to include cosmetic
services.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 17)
ALSO INSIDE
Editor’s Inbox
Adding annuities to target-date funds
will only confuse employees
Employee-Consumer
Consider step therapy for heartburn
drugs
Health Care
Many employers lack a formal health
care strategy
BY THE NUMBERS
59%
of physicians agree that
employers should let doctors
know about efforts to help
a patient manage chronic
disease.
See page 50
JULY 2010 • VOL 24 NO 9 • EBN.BENEFITNEWS.COM
LONG-TERM CARE
CLASS Act advances employees’
awareness of LTC options, costs
BY KATHLEEN KOSTER
The Community Living Assistance Ser-
vices and Supports Act created under the
umbrella of health care reform likely will
bring new awareness to long-term care.
Next, authorities say, employers must
decide whether they prefer to offer the
baseline public program, a private LTC
plan or neither.
Employers will have a lot to commu-
nicate, especially if they offer the CLASS
program. They will need to alert employ-
ees that this is an opt-out program and
face misgivings if employees belatedly
recognize the paycheck hit — money they
won’t see again unless they continue to
fund the benefits for five years.
“The government projections call for
5% participation, which means employ-
ers will have to go through a lot of work
and cost to educate 95% of their employ-
ees expected to opt-out. The mandatory
opt-out provision could be highly prob-
lematic for employers who run the risk of
disgruntled employees receiving reduced
paychecks simply for failing to reply,”
says Jesse Slome, executive director of
the American Association for Long-Term
Care Insurance.
RETIREMENT
Conference tackles current,
looming retirement issues
BY LYDELL C. BRIDGEFORD
The Retirement Income Summit, a gath-
ering of financial advisers this spring,
confirmed that employers committed to
educating workers about saving for re-
tirement have a lot on their plate, both
now and in the years to come.
Take for example, the concept of ge-
riatric finance, the declining ability to
make responsible financial decisions.
It’s something that employers and plan
sponsors will have to grapple with as they
educate workers about saving and invest-
ing for retirement.
Dr. Andrew Lo, a professor at the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology and
the founder and chief investment strate-
gist of AlphaSimplex Group, LLC, cited a
study that found as people age they begin
to make poor financial decisions.
“You may argue this may have more to
do with the economics of the young and
the old, in terms of their risk and credit
rating. Yet it’s kind of hard to argue that
older individuals are riskier credit candi-
dates than younger consumers,” Lo told
(SEE FINANCIAL ON PAGE 57)
