Health insurance scams are a real threat for small business employers and employees. Insurance failures hurt real people – workers and their families – who are seldom equipped to absorb large dollar losses. Small-business owners are often the targets of such scams, which resulted in at least $252 million in unpaid medical claims from 2000 through 2002, says the GAO, an investigative arm of Congress.Health insurance scam artists steal from the most vulnerable consumers," Assistant Secretary of Labor, Ann Combs testified.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued a revised Exposure Draft, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions. The Exposure Draft addresses how state and local governments should account for and report their costs and obligations related to postemployment healthcare and other non-pension benefits provided to retirees (collectively referred to as other postemployment benefits, or OPEB).

Every year, spas become more relevant to everyday Americans, as more and more people -- and more and more different types of people -- embrace spas to improve the way they look and feel. Spa Finder is at the very center of this unfolding story, representing the largest network of spas in the world and interacting with the largest audience of spa consumers.

Increasingly under fire for failing to properly regulate the mutual fund industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission was dealt another blow when Congress moved to return $120 million in unspent funds to the U.S. Treasury, $30 million of which the SEC will not get back.The money had been appropriated to expand the financial industry watchdog’s staff and when new employees weren’t hired fast enough in fiscal year 2003, the money was returned to the Treasury. Next week, Congress is expected to approve the agency’s $811 million spending bill for fiscal year 2004, which began Oct. 1.

Flexible spending plans offered by some corporations just got a whole lot easier to use with new rules allowing debit cards to track the use of pretax dollars employees put away to pay for medical expenses not covered by health plans. The IRS recently permitted the use of debit cards to cut down on the paperwork usually involved in taking advantage of these flexible-spending plans offered by many employers. These plans allow employees to put a portion of their pretax salary away for anticipated medical expenses during the year.

The HIPAA "Privacy Rule" goes into effect April 14 for group health plans with annual premium or claims of $5 million or more. HIPAA requires employers to separate protected health information from employment-relation functions. If you are a company who sponsors an employee health care plan, be prepared for the Privacy Rules of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

by Michael P. Sullivan, President, 50-Plus Communications Consulting Does anyone ever really plan ahead to care for an aging parent? Not unless the older adult is in a troublesome or even critical state. Elder caregiving almost becomes a complete surprise. We don’t normally set aside money or time for the task. In fact, we are usually unprepared for it. And, often when it does occur, we tend to deny it’s happening. And yet there are critical issues that accompany the complex, extraordinarily powerful emotions of caring for loved ones who are elderly, disabled or ill.

Patricia A. Schultz, Esq., Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC Health insurance costs are expected to rise an average 16 percent in 2003.

Stress is a constant and is with us all the time. It comes from mental or emotional activity and physical activity. It is unique and personal to each of us. Too much emotional stress can cause physical illness such as high blood pressure, ulcers, or even heart disease; physical stress from work or exercise is not likely to cause such ailments.