Healthcare Reform Update: Preventive Services
New interim final rules released July 14 on the new health care law make clear that new health plans starting on or after Sept. 23, 2010 must cover preventive services that have shown scientific evidence that they benefit health. These plans can't charge a patient a co-payment, co-insurance or a deductible when these preventive services are delivered by a doctor in a plan's network. The requirements to cover recommended preventive services without any cost-sharing requirements do not apply to grandfathered health plans. Employers will be able to continue to impose cost-sharing requirements on preventive services employees receive from out-of-network providers.
The new rules also make clear that regular cost-sharing requirements can be imposed on an office visit when a recommended preventive service is billed as a separate charge. In addition, treatment resulting from a preventive service can be subject to cost-sharing requirements if the treatment is not itself a recommended preventive service. Regulators estimate that the new requirements will increase group health care plans’ costs by an average of 1.5% a year.
FSC Approves Pilot Group Eligibility
Thanks to efforts by the Printing Industries of America EHS department, FSC International has approved a pilot group eligibility criteria and sales cap up to $5,000,000. Details are still being worked out and will be published on FSC website within the next few weeks. The approval is based on this program being a one-year pilot specific only to the U.S. The Printing Industries' EHS team will continue to work with FSC to gain additional information on the pilot program, and encourage them to increase the cap to allow more printing companies to participate.
Forget the Hips, It's the Feet that Don't Lie
Want a hint about how that face-to-face sales pitch, job interview, or other negotiation is going? Try looking down. When people try to control their body language, they focus mainly on their facial expressions and leave their legs and feet uncontrolled. Thus, that is where the truth can most often be found. Bouncing, tapping, wiggling feet are what professional poker players call "happy feet," and a signal that a player's hand is strong. You can pick up similar signals in business negotiations. If you see a lot of high-energy foot jiggling, or notice a slight bounce in the shoulders that results from such movement, you can almost always assume that the person is feeling pretty good about his bargaining position. Also, if your seated opponent rocks back on his heels and raises his toes, he probably thinks he has the upper hand. Feet say a lot about self-confidence. When you stand with your feet close together, you appear timid or hesitant. When you widen your stance, you look more solid and sure of yourself. Foot positions are revealing even if someone's legs are crossed. If the toe of the leg on top points toward you, the person is most likely interested in you. If the toe points away, the person is probably withdrawing. Excerpted from "A Body Language Secret: Look Below The Belt" by Carol Kinsey Goman, first published on Forbes.com.
What Turns Off Buyers?
A recent study by McKinsey & Co. of 1,200 B2B buyers found that "too much contact for no good reason from sales reps" was the reason most respondents (30%) had changed suppliers. Another top reason (cited by 20% of respondents) was lack of knowledge on the part of the sales rep about their own or competitors' services.
Staying in touch with decision makers is vital, but the day is long gone when a social call with lunch is all that is required. With downsizing rampant and bottom line pressures ever greater, reps have to deliver real value in new and better ideas if they are going to be on the client's list of indispensables.
Tech Tip of the Week-Mixed Ink Swatches
Dave Dezzutti, Printing Industries of America Manager for Prepress Production, shares this tip about a useful feature of Adobe InDesign that allows designers to combine Pantone color swatches with percentages of process colors. Mixed inks allow for more flexibility in creating colors, especially for two-color jobs. Before creatin a Mixed Ink Swatch or Mixed Ink Group, you must add at least one spot color to the Swatches panel. Here are the steps:
- Choose New Mixed Ink Swatch from the Swatches panel menu.
- Type a name for the swatch.
- To include an ink in the mixed ink swatch, click the empty box next to its name. An ink icon appears. A mixed ink swatch must contain at least one spot color.
- Adjust the percentage of each ink included in the swatch by using the slider bar or typing a value in the percentage box.
- To add the mixed ink to the Swatches panel, click Add or OK.
New Freebie for Members
Another FREE report is now available online for members to download. The new report, "Increasing Productivity on a Stitcher Using Automation," focuses on the time savings from introducing automation in the bindery, specifically on a stitcher. It can be found, along with other technical, economic, and HR studies, plus webinar recordings, at www.printing.org/free. Member login and password required to access.
Member News-In Memoriam
With regret, we announce the passing of industry friend Gordon Daniels on July 16, 2010. Gordon was well-known in the D.C. print community, and had worked for Good Impressions Printing (now closed). He was also a member of the Washington Printers' Guild and a board member for the UED where he played an active role in union negotiations. Gordon is survived by his wife Linda Daniels; children Andrew and LeeAnn [Jackson]; one brother, Jack Daniels; and five grandchildren. Friends may call at the EVERLY-WHEATLEY FUNERAL HOME, 1500 West Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA on Thursday, July 22, 2010, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., where services will be held on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 11 a.m. Interment private.
Upcoming
Events
| July 29 |
Webinar: Print Grows Trees, 11:00am-Noon. PGAMA President Kerry Stackpole leads this webinar, and will share information about the Print Grows Trees campaign, and the role of the printing industry in protecting and growing our country's forests. Free for Members! Email with registration link coming soon to your computer in box. |
| August 5 |
Webinar: Cybercrime: New Risks in Light of Changing Technology, 2:00-3:00pm. Digital printing with customer databases is fraught with new and complex risks. Enter Cybercrime, as the fastest growing crime in America, where attacks can potentially wipe-out entire small and medium-sized companies given their limited resources. Participants will benefit from sessions that include real-life case studies and examples that underline the importance of staying on top of the latest security and risk management tactics, including Cyber-liability insurance. Cost is $49 for members, $99 for non-members. Register at http://www.printing.org/node/6368. |
| September 9 |
Webinar: Creating Flawless Files that are Print-Ready, 2:00-3:00pm. A recent Printing Industries of America survey showed that 70% of printers need to repair more than half of all files submitted before they can be output successfully. Solid digital file creation is the key element to reproducing jobs in a time- and cost-efficient manner for print production. Go “under the hood” with Adobe CS5 and other desktop publishing applications and become a pro at preparing digital files for print production! Led by Joe Marin, Senior Analyst, Digital Technologies, Printing Industries of America. Cost is $49 for members/$99 for non-members. More info and register at http://www.printing.org/node/6166
***Printers: Purchase this webinar for your customers to strengthen your relationships, AND get problem-free files! |
| September 13-14 |
Workshop: Optimizing Color from Your Digital Press, Printing Industries of America headquarters in Sewickley, PA. Become or develop the "go to" person when it comes to troubleshooting color problems in your digital workflow. This brand new workshop was designed to supply you with a comprehensive look at what it takes to produce reliable, predictable, high-quality color on your digital press. It is a perfect blend of intense lab instruction and quality hands-on training, leaving you totally immersed in the subject of digital color and press optimization. Led by Julie Shaffer, Vice President of Digital Technologies, Printing Industries of America and David Zwang, Principal Consultant, Zwang & Company. Cost is $595 for members/$1095 for non-members. More info and register at http://www.printing.org/node/5960. |
| September 14-15 |
Government Affairs Event: Printing Industries of America Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C. This event serves to advocate public policy on behalf of individual companies, and helps build industry relationships with federal lawmakers and key administration officials. Meet Senators, Representatives, and Capitol Hill staff face-to-face! Attendance is FREE for members. Learn more and register at http://www.printing.org/printsvoice |
| September 16 |
Special Event: MAGE Crab Feast, at Blob's Park Pavilion in Jessup, MD. Plan to 'Get Your Crab On' at the biggest MAGE event of the year. New location, new menu and new activities will make this a fun-filled occasion for your clients, co-workers, family and friends. Full details coming soon! |
October 14-16
|
SAVE THE DATE! Plan now to attend the PGAMA/PIVA 2010 Executive Management Summit & Sales Symposium. With an unprecedented 16 speakers invited, you will get the latest information and new inspiration to lead your business to a successful future. More info to follow in your PGAMA print and email. |
|
