March 2007 | Volume VI, Issue 3

Recent and Upcoming DataPath Events

CDHC Expo

In February, DataPath attended the first annual CDHC Expo hosted by Pre-paid Media. The CDHC Expo will be remembered for its’ focus on “Consumerism”. Three of the Keynote speakers pulled together a few of the main themes of the expo. The themes forecasted dramatically increasing health care costs, securing the “Safety Net” for the uninsured, and starting to focus more on prevention. Here are the themes by speaker:

Dr. David Brailer called the next 9 years “A Period of Challenge”, because the cost of Health Care will increase as much in that period as it has in the last 200 years.
Stephen T. Parente forecasts a decrease in the uninsured by 82%, to just under 10 million, due to growth in HSAs and low-option PPOs.
Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, stated that we need to focus on Wellness. Currently 93% of two trillion health care dollars is spent after we get sick. Only 7% is currently being spent to keep us well. Whether it’s walking 10-15 minutes a day to reduce diabetes by 60% or adding 14 years and 6 months to your life, because we never started smoking, we have to start focusing on wellness.

ECFC

DataPath has just returned from the ECFC Annual Meeting in McLean, Virginia. Held from March 8^th-9^th, the purpose of the conference was to examine health care financing issues expected to arise as the new Congress begins to vote on proposed legislation that will affect the future of employer provided health care, consumer plans, and the uninsured.

Speakers at the conference covered important new Department of Labor and IRS rules on the HSAs and cafeteria plans as well as the new regulations governing health benefit cards.

ProducersWeb

The ProducersWeb Benefits Selling Expo in Dallas from March 21^st-23^rd will be a networking meeting between the industry’s top benefits brokers. DataPath will be there, learning about the new sales and marketing strategies that industry giants are using to sell benefits.

Society for Professional Benefits Administrators

John Robbins, Sr. will be attending the SPBA Conference in Washington, DC April 11^th-13^th. The Society will be meeting to discuss the state of the TPA industry and forecast for 2008.

National Advisors Trust

DataPath will be attending the National Advisors Trust Annual Conference, May 9^th-11^th in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of the conference will be to explore best practices and maintaining profit margins with growing client demand in the ever changing environment of the marketplace that continues to be affected by the increase in regulations. DataPath will also be exhibiting and we invite all attending to come by our booth.

Connections 07

This year’s Connections will be more than just conference; it will be a destination. DataPath’s annual conference will be held from July 11^th-13^th in Orlando, Florida at the luxurious Royal Plaza Hotel located in the Walt Disney World ^{® Resort}. This year, we will focus on how we can help TPAs sell Consumer Driven to employers while increasing efficiency and profitability through improved business rules and technology.

For details on Connections 07, click here.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Material contained in this newsletter is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice upon which you can rely, you must seek a legal opinion from your attorney.

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