Healthcare

Our healthcare group provides communication and marketing support for pharmaceutical companies, healthcare facilities and medical groups by applying an array of image-building tools and extensive experience.

Our experienced account team includes executives with extensive healthcare marketing backgrounds. We work regularly with trade, print and broadcast journalists covering a broad array of health issues on a national, regional and statewide basis.

Among our clients are the state’s largest hospice, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer, a statewide coalition of healthcare professionals, medical practice groups and individual physicians.

We position our healthcare clients before numerous targeted audiences through these services:

News releases and press conferences to announce expansion programs, specialized services or address timely issues. We are adept at positioning executives, physicians and other healthcare professionals as experts for newscasts or print coverage on topics drawing public attention – such as health risks, insurance changes, new diets and legislative and regulatory proposals.

Graphically pleasing and informative brochures, newsletters and other marketing materials.

Ghost writing and placement of bylined articles or commentaries on topics that position our healthcare clients as leaders in their field.

Speech texts and conference presentations on healthcare policies, regulatory proposals, suggested reforms, senior citizens’ services or other topics in consultation with clients.

Sophisticated web sites that we design, fill with authoritative content and maintain with regular updating.

Identity packages that create a consistent brand image through all materials, including logos, letterheads, ads, newsletters, videos, PowerPoints and signage.

Together with our Public Affairs practice, our Healthcare group is knowledgeable about consumer concerns and public policy discussions involving senior care issues, health insurance benefits, prescription costs and importation, home care, Medicare and Medicaid strains and other high-impact subjects.

Only a handful of issues are as important as healthcare to reporters and the public. At Marx Layne, we can leverage that concern into awareness and support for virtually any business in healthcare and related fields.

Marx Layne

Reputation insurance: Are you covered?

If you own a business, chances are you’re insured for major catastrophes like fires and floods, product liability and professional malpractice. What you are far less likely to have insured is your good name, even though damage to your reputation can be every bit as costly as any other disaster.

A story in Bloomberg stated that 75 percent of a company’s value is tied up in its reputation.

Yet, there has never been a bigger threat to your respectability than there is right now. Thanks to the immediacy of news and social media­—and citizen journalists with smartphone cameras—it’s become commonplace for incidents involving disgruntled employees, or the occasional rogue or incompetent manager, to be recorded and posted online even before the incident is considered newsworthy, and far before the first news crew arrives on the scene at your company.

The fallout can cause irreparable damage to your brand equity and shareholder value. It’s a disaster for which few business owners are prepared.

In Deloitte’s 2014 global survey, Reputation@Risk, executives reported feeling most prepared for risks that are within their controls, such as employee misconduct. But even then, they admit that they don’t feel adequately ready to respond to incidents that have the potential to damage their reputations; only 68 percent said they were prepared.

Further, London-based casualty insurer Ace European Group surveyed executives in 2013, and more than 90 percent responded that damage to reputation is more difficult to manage than any other specific risk category. More than half stated that social media has greatly increased exposure, and two-thirds reported feeling inadequately covered from an insurance perspective.

Because of the risk involved, it’s surprising that insurance companies—which are already accustomed to selling policies to nonprofits, privately and publicly held entities and governments—do not offer more policies to cover the costs incurred by such incidents.

There are a few insurance carriers offering reputation protection and crisis management policies to cover those costs incurred involved with media monitoring, social media strategy and media outreach. Managing the crisis can also include communicating with internal audiences such as staff and management, government and public authorities, civic leaders, donors, shareholders, customers and vendors.

The costs almost always include working with the organization and its attorneys to develop messaging related to the crisis. They may include interaction with municipal officials and police. The public relations agency must also serve as an intermediary between the company and the throngs of media aggressively seeking information. The agency may identify and media-training a spokesperson, or in some cases, a public relations professional will serve as the client’s spokesperson.

The best-known insurance providers that cover communications services are DeWitt Stern’s Reputation Risk Insurance, AIG’s Reputation Guard, Zurich’s Brand Assurance and Munich Re’s Reputation Insurance.

But those policies can be expensive. For example, Zurich Financial Services offers a policy that costs $5 million a year, and will cover up to $100 million for public relations, brand monitoring, communications and media relations services.

Keep in mind when you are shopping for insurance, these reputation-related catastrophes can happen to any company, and they can happen with no warning. As you have insurance to cover other disasters and the associated legal fees, property damage and cleanup, it’s crucial to ask your insurance broker about policies to ensure you’re protected and have coverage to cover the complex process of rebuilding trust in the aftermath of an incident that tarnishes your reputation.

Though coverage is somewhat uncommon now, it won’t be—and shouldn’t be—for much longer, as long as social media and cell phone cameras are not going away.

Most colonoscopies should be covered 100% by your insurance

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that insurance companies cover 100 percent of the cost of preventive colonoscopies for adults older than age 50. Of course you’ll need to see a provider who is part of your plan’s provider network.

However, despite this new reform, we do hear consumers who’ve had a routine preventive colonoscopy only to have their insurer process their claim as “cost-shared diagnostic care,” which is subject to their annual deductible and coinsurance.

We also sometimes hear from consumers who receive a substantial surgical bill when a polyp is discovered and removed during a preventive colonoscopy. The Affordable Care Act and other federal guidelines protect consumers from extra charges for polyp removal during a preventive colonoscopy. If you receive a bill for polyp removal, you should file a complaint with us and we’ll help you get those charges reversed.

If you are diagnosed with colon cancer, any previous related symptoms may result in your provider processing the cancer screening as diagnostic and not preventive. In that case, your treatment would not be covered as preventive care and you’ll likely have additional costs. If you have any questions, check with your doctor.

Be aware that if a procedure or treatment is not a recommended preventive service, it may be subject to your plan’s deductible and cost-sharing. Also, if a medical recommendation or guideline regarding a preventive service does not specify the frequency, method, treatment, or setting for that service, your insurer may limit your coverage.
Here are some important tips to remember:

• If you have any questions, first talk to your doctor or medical provider and your insurance company. 
• Read more about which health benefits are required under the ACA.
• If you receive a bill from your insurance company that you disagree with, request an appeal.
• In addition, file a complaint with us.

Protect yourself from Medicare fraud

The Insurance Commissioner’s Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program is Washington state’s Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). A federally funded and volunteer-based program, SHIBA/SMP volunteers provide education on how to prevent, detect and report Medicare fraud.

Medicare is the national health care plan for all U.S. citizens age 65 and older. It also covers people younger than age 65 who receive Social Security Disability Income and people who are diagnosed with certain medical conditions.

In Washington state, SHIBA/SMP volunteers help protect seniors and fight health care fraud, leaving more money in the system for everyone. Our state’s volunteers educate beneficiaries on how to avoid becoming victims of health care fraud, and how to report abuse or fraud, related to their Medicare benefits.

We all pay a price for Medicare fraud, waste and abuse, which contributes significantly to rising health care costs. There are three things you can do to help fight Medicare fraud:

1. Know your rights. As a person with Medicare, you have certain rights and protections designed to help protect you and make sure you get the health care services the law says you can get.
2. Protect your identity. Identity theft happens when someone uses your personal information without your consent to commit fraud or other crimes. Keep this personal information safe:
• Your name.
• Your Social Security Number (SSN).
• Your Medicare number (or your membership card if you’re in a Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plan).
• Your credit card and bank account numbers.
3. Get involved with other seniors with the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). The SMP educates and empowers people with Medicare to take an active role in detecting and preventing health care fraud and abuse.

You can find more Medicare fraud tips on our website. If you suspect Medicare fraud or have questions about your bill:

• Call OIC’s Statewide Health Benefits Insurance Advisors (SHIBA) at 1-800-562-6900 or email us at shibahelpline@oic.wa.gov.
• Contact your local SHIBA office.

Have a quick question? Try our new live chat

This week is National Consumer Protection Week and the OIC is one of the many government agencies that helps protect consumers from financial harm.

A huge part of the work we do is helping and educating consumers about all things insurance, from answering questions to looking into complaints against insurance companies, providing help with filing appeals for claim and coverage denials and everything in between.

We recently launched a live chat feature to help consumers get answers to their quick questions about insurance and their rights. Consumers can chat with one of our consumer advocates Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If your question needs more attention, we will direct you to the right place to get the help you need.

Consumers can reach us:

• By phone at 1-800-562-6900
• Online
• Through our social media channels 
• File a complaint against an insurance company or professional. Our complaint system is optimized for mobile devices.  

The Opportunity To Invest In SMEs in Singapore

Did you know that we can actually invest in SMEs (small-to-medium enterprises) in Singapore? This allows individual investors to earn attractive returns while supporting the growth of local businesses. We can invest in SMEs through debt-based crowdfunding platforms. This is where SMEs can issue bonds and everyday investors can buy the bonds and get returns on their investments.

Here's an example of a campaign that local crowdfunding platform, MoolahSense, had previously:

This was the first campaign listed under MoolahSense platform. It has paid out successfully to all investors at a rate of 9.9%. The target amount of the company was initially only $100,000 but due to popular demand, offers went up as high as $207,000.

Company: SMATHS

Smaths Consulting Pte Ltd is a boutique education centre that tailors solutions and learning needs in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Economics, with additional activity streams in adult and continuing education.

They have four upmarket, mixed use education centres by end of 2014, targeting affluent customers who are quality sensitive, staffed by the best qualified, most motivated tutors in the business.

Programmes are free to try, backed up by money-back and results guarantees.

History:

• Founded 2010, first learning centre opened 2011
• Second centre opened 2011
• Third centre 2013
• Fourth centre (and our second in Bukit Timah) by end of 2014
• Projected ten centres by end of 2015

Issuer Summary:

• Date of Listing: November 5, 2014
• Amount:S$100,000
• Tenor:12 months
• Repayment Type:Equal Instalment
• Repayment Term:Monthly
• Target Interest Rate:18.00% p.a.
• Purpose:Business Expansion / Growth Capital

Use of funds:

• Development of additional education hubs during first quarter of 2015
• This will increase the usable space for learners and expand the number of educators available
• Will allow us to continue to grow the range of subjects on offer
• Expected to form a base to increase Smaths revenues substantially and free cash flows by over 100% within one year

Before investing, it is prudent to do our own due diligence to know the financial health of the company. For investment like this, which is similar to bond investing, there is always risk where the company goes bankrupt and default on their payments. In the case of SME investment, the bonds will have guarantors. For SMATHS's case, the guarantor of the bond is the Group Chief Executive of the company itself. 

Under Moolahsense platform, it has a section called MoolahCore, which shows the financial strength of the company. Here's a screenshot of it:

Click to enlarge

Under this section, you will see the turnover of the company, profitability, current ratio, debt/equity ratio, interest coverage ratio, cash flow from operations and the average cash balance of the company.

You can also ask any questions before investing, through an internal forum – MoolahPost. Moolahsense also organises info sessions for investors to meet the business owners personally for you to understand more before investing.

Investing in SMEs have its risk and thus the returns are higher than the average retail bonds out there. Investing in SMEs through Moolahsense allows you to reap an average of 11-12% p.a. on your investment. Most notes are only for 1 year period with some less than a year.

I have an account with Moolahsense and am looking out to invest part of my money into SMEs which I think is worth investing. You can check out their website and sign up for a free account to try out their crowdlending platform. Who knows you may just find a good company to invest in and at the same time get good returns on your money.

For local SMEs owners, this could be an interesting alternative financing option as well.

Click here to visit MoolahSense Website.

This article is written in collaboration with Moolahsense. All ideas portrayed are independent by SG Young Investment.

What Really Is Contentment?

Last week, many of you may have read a Straits Times article about Dr Lee Wei Ling on "More Than Life Than The Pursuit of Happiness". In the article, she said:

" Happiness, in whatever form one sees it, becomes more elusive the harder one tries to pursue it. That's why my personal aim is much more realistic: All I ask for is calmness and contentment. These at least are partially within my control."

In case you do not know, Dr Lee Wei Ling is the daughter of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who's Singapore's first prime minister and minister mentor. Contentment is not easy to achieve in life. But I can see that most people who are contented are happy in life. They don't compare with others, they don't seek happiness from things that are superficial. There is this inner happiness and peace in those who are contented in life. Don't get me wrong. Contentment is not being lazy. It is also not an excuse to not improve or work hard.

Writing a financial blog is not about the pursue of money. It is the pursue of freedom. I have never set myself out to pursue money but its more about learning how to create a system where money grows so that it takes care of itself later on. This lets me have more time for the more important things in life such as spending time with my loved ones and living a fulfilling life that makes a difference. As the saying goes, why work for money if you can have money work for you? Contentment is part of the freedom equation. If we keep seeking more things or more money in life, there will never be an end. We will never achieve freedom even if we work all our lives if we live like this. It is not wrong to be rich but to be blinded by material things will leave us feeling empty.

Anyway, I saw another article written by Dr Lee Wei Ling which is so profound but yet easy to understand. What do we really seek in life? Read on and find out more...

Article written by Lee Wei Ling

In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience Institute, I wrote:

‘Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful compared to the private sector.’

Slump time has arrived with a bang.

While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life.

Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore, have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities.

A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication. Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order.

A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate.

The same attitude influences the choice of attire and accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker labouring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in.

The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from getting worse. I am not an economist, but wasn’t that the root cause of the current crisis – Americans spending more than they could afford to?

I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don’t believe in the supernatural and I don’t think I have a soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me:  ‘Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.’

My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal.. My parents and I live in the same house that my paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today’s standards, but it is simple – in fact, almost to the point of being shabby.

Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison.

But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times.

No matter how poor you are in Singapore , the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore ..

Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference.

Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one’s own labour is one’s prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously.

But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to?

Neither an Aston Martin nor an Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented.. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true mean ing of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye.

When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?

We know which is the correct choice – and it is within our power to make that choice.

In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely.

To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly.

The writer is director of Singapore’s National Neuroscience Institute. And also Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter…

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1. A generation of instant gratification - The cause of unhappiness