Study finds virtual doctors visits satisfactory for both patients and clinicians 15/May/2009 Travelers book plane tickets online, bank customers can check their accounts at any computer, and busy families can grocery shop online. Someday, even doctor visits could be among the conveniences offered via the Internet. Researchers considering the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual doctors visits report that patients and physicians found that evaluations done through videoconferencing were similar to face-to-face visits on most measures, according a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. “There is growing evidence that the use of videoconferencing in the medical environment is useful for a variety of acute and chronic issues,” says Ronald F. Dixon, MD, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and the study’s senior author. “Videoconferencing between a provider and patients allows for the evaluation of many issues that may not require an office visit and can be achieved in a shorter time.” The healthcare delivery model in the United States is under scrutiny. Reduced access to providers, rapidly increasing costs and an aging population represent major challenges for the healthcare system. Telemedicine projects, including virtual visits (a patient-physician real-time encounters using videoconferencing technology) are being examined to evaluate their capacity to improve patient access to care and lower healthcare costs. This study, the largest trial of virtual visits versus face-to-face visits done to date, randomized patients to one of two arms. In the first arm, the patients completed a visit (virtual or face-to-face) with a physician; they then completed a second visit via the other modality with another physician. In the second arm of the study, subjects had both visits face-to-face with two different physicians. All physicians and patients completed evaluation questionnaires after each visit. Patients found virtual visits similar to face-to-face visits on most measures, including time spent with the physician, ease of interaction and personal aspects of the interaction. Physicians scored virtual visits similar to face-to-face visits on measures including history taking and medication dispensing, and though they were less satisfied on measures of clinical skill and overall satisfaction those ratings were still in the good to excellent range. The diagnostic agreement between physicians was 84 percent between face-to-face and virtual visits; it was 80 percent between the two face-to-face visits. “The tradition of medicine is to lay hand on the patients, which has always been considered paramount to patient care in the minds of physicians,” says Dixon. “However, these findings suggest that virtual visits could be a viable option in circumstances where patients need to be monitored routinely for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, obesity or depression, and self-management strategies are not working. Virtual visits may also be effective for triage of acute, non-urgent issues like back pain or respiratory infections.” Among the benefits of virtual visits are reduce overhead costs for a physicians’ practices by reducing the space and resource requirements. For patients, a virtual visit can minimize time taken away from work and transportation costs. The study suggests that both patients and physicians could benefit if virtual visits were used as an alternative method of accessing primary care. The co-author of this study is James E. Stahl, MD, internist and technology adoption researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. The study was supported by the Center for the Innovation of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) and the MGH Department of Medicine. Founded in 1811, the MGH is the third oldest general hospital in the United States and the oldest and largest in New England. The 900-bed medical center offers sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic care in virtually every specialty and subspecialty of medicine and surgery. Each year the MGH admits more than 46,000 inpatients and handles nearly 1.5 million outpatient visits at its main campus and health centers. Its Emergency Department records nearly 80,000 visits annually. The surgical staff performs more than 35,000 operations and the MGH Vincent Obstetrics Service delivers more than 3,500 babies each year. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the country, with an annual research budget of more than $500 million. It is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, where nearly all MGH staff physicians serve on the faculty. The MGH is consistently ranked among the nation’s top hospitals by US News and World Report. Media Contacts: Jennifer Gundersen, 617-724-6433, jgundersen1@partners.org
by Jodi Leigh on March 17, 2010
When it comes to life insurance policies, which one is the best? the answer to that question can be difficult, especially if you are a senior citizen. A senior citizen life insurance policy shouldn’t be difficult to obtained. Companies like MetLife, New York Life and Prudential provide many options. Though there are many companies that offer life interest policies to senior citizens, you need to know what is best for you before you can make a decision. The first decision you need to make is if you want a term life insurance or a whole life insurance.
So, what is the difference between term life and whole life insurance? Term life insurance is insurance that you have for a set time period. You will pay monthly for what ever period The term life insurance policy is for. Whole life insurance is insurance that you keep until you pass on. Between the two, term life insurance is the trickiest to deal with. Some companies who offer term life insurance will not save your money correctly.
That isn’t to say that all term life insurance companies will do that, but it’s always good to read the fine print. Usually with whole life insurance plans you can get a good idea of how much money will be available for your loved ones.
MetLife provides a very quick no obligation quote on line. Just providing a few bits of information aim you can get paid good idea of what you can expect to pay with their whole life insurance plan. But as always, look around and do research. Never assume the first place you look will be the best regardless of any reviews. Just because someone you know who has a great plan with credential doesn’t mean you will have good plan with Prudential. Insurance policies are based off you specifically, and the more places you check the more likely you will get a good deal.
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Citigroup (C) has officially priced the IPO of its spinoff of Primerica.
At $15 per share, the pricing went strong.
Warburg Pincus will pick up 22% to 33% of shares and Citigroup will retain 32% to 46% of equity, which it will divest after Primerica begins trading.
But will investors buy Primerica’s stock?
That depends if they can figure out what Primerica actually does first.
What Does Primerica Do?
They’ll deny it, but basically, it’s a multi-level marketing (MLM) company for finance.
Primerica employs, according to their prospectus, over 100,000 representatives who go out and sell financial products like term life insurance, mutual funds, life insurance, and annuities. Almost all the products offered by Primerica are from Citigroup, its corporate parent.
All the mutual funds and annuities are sold through Primerica’s licensed broker/dealer subsidiary, PFS Investments.
The goal is for the rep to push these products in a “warm market,” which includes your family and friends who you’d be more comfortable selling to.
The rep receives a commission for these sales and his recruiter, recruiter’s recruiter and so on all receive a portion of the sale.
Reps are encouraged to recruit more people to continue bringing in sales and revenue. All this information can be found in the “Business” section of the prospectus, beginning on page 104.
But don’t expect to go making $100,000 a year as a salesperson.
According to Primerica, these 100,000 reps make on average, $5,156 a year. Hardly enough to do anything with let alone live on.
Higher ups who run district sales offices are called RVPs or regional vice presidents. They make significantly more money.
Know why?
Primerica employs an 11-tier upside system in which you get a kickback of commissions from your recruits, your recruit’s recruits, and so on up until the 11th level. (This information can be found on page 112 of the prospectus.)
It takes about 10-seconds of Googling to reveal that there is widespread skepticism towards the company’s business model.
A site called Pink Truth discusses how despite Primerica’s claims it’s not an MLM or pyramid scheme, it in fact, is:
Primerica is Multi-Level Marketing.
No matter how many times representatives of Primerica say that the company is not an MLM, that doesn’t change the fact that it is. The company’s website says (bold added by me):
Personal Income: Primerica has more than 100,000 representatives. Actual gross cash flow is, among other factors, dependent upon actual organization size, the number of sales and the override spread on each sale, and the ability and efforts of you and your downlines. There is no guarantee that you will achieve any specific cash flow level. Commissions are subject to deferred compensation account withholding and applicable taxes. RVPs are responsible for their own business expenses and pay for all office expenses for their base shop representatives. The Company may from time to time modify, supplement or terminate any compensation program in any manner. Further details are available from Primerica Financial Services, Inc.
No Inventory to Buy
If you can get a Primerica supporter to admit that the company is an MLM, the next argument is that it’s not “bad” like other MLMs. They don’t have inventory frontloading like MLMs that are product-based. That’s true, but that doesn’t mean that Primerica is immune from abuse of representatives
Here’s more from Articlesbase:
Primerica Financial Services is a financial services company that is structured through the MLM business model. Representatives can earn either by selling various financial products and services like life insurance, mutual funds, variable annuities, segregated funds, loans, long-term care insurance and pre-paid legal services or by actively recruiting more representatives to do the same and get a commissions from their sales. Using an MLM business model to sell financial services might draw some criticism, but so far, it has paid off well for Primerica.
So… How to Get A Job At Primerica
How does one become a sales rep? Good question.
We spent several days calling local Primerica “offices,” which are just people’s apartments and homes and a cellphone number linked to that address. None of the numbers in Manhattan or Queens worked, so we called Mark Supic, Primerica’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations who works at the company’s headquarters in Duluth, Georgia.
Mr. Supic said he could not comment on anything due to the quiet period related to the IPO filing. So we asked Mr. Supic how we could go about finding a local sales representative. He told us to “look through the white pages or use MSN white pages.”
Financial Details
Whatever your opinion of Primerica, you can’t ignore that it’s a real company.
In 2009 alone Primerica did $2.22 billion in revenue. Here are some basic facts about the state of the company’s finances as found in the S-1 filing, page 14:
- Revenue in 2008 was $2.19 billion with net income of $167.6 million; 2007 saw revenue of $2.39 billion and net income of $593.6 million.
- Growth has essentially been flat over the past three years.
- Most of Primerica’s revenue is derived from direct premium payments.
- Term life insurance is Primerica’s best selling product.
- $300 million of revenue was drawn in 2009 from investment and savings products.
- 2009 saw sales commissions of $34.3 million.
Below is a chart showing Primerica’s corporate structure after the IPO.
Where Have All The Sales Reps Gone?
Unable to find a local sales representative to speak with, we hit the Internet and scoured around for first-hand accounts of Primerica.
This message on Scam.com purporting to come from a company rep explains offers some first-hand perspective. He writes first hand detailing how Primerica’s compensation system works:
I could go on forever about my experience with Primerica. So instead of detailing conversations and experiences I will do what no one at my base shop, and no person to ever attack or defend Primerica, has done. I’m going to lay out some FACTS and hopefully these FACTS will ANSWER some QUESTIONS:
1. In the month of February 2007, Primerica recruited 16,500 people at $199 a piece. The $199 is supposed to be used for a background check, and the Group 1 Life/Health Licensing process. Any current or former representative will tell you that there is a “formula for success” in regards to recruits;
For every 10 people you recruit, 6 will quit and 4 will pursue their life license. Of the 4 that pursue 1 will fail the test and quit, 1 will pass the exam and never sell insurance, 1 will pass, do 2-3 transactions and quit and 1 will become a “success.” So, for every 10 recruits, 7 do nothing with the $199.
Let’s do a little bit of math for the month of February. 16,500 divided by 10 is 1650. There are 1650 groups of 10. According to the “formula of success” 7 out of the 10 will not use the $199 they paid. 1650 multiplied by 7 is 11,550 people who did not use their $199 fee for licensing. 11,550 times $199 is
$2,298,450. The goal for March is 30,000 recruits. 30,000 divided by 10 is 3000 times 7 is 21,000 times $199 is $4,179,000. In one month off of recruits alone Primerica made enough to pay the “guy on the CD who makes 2 Million Dollars a year” his money for the year and some change.
Can people get refunds? Absolutely. I am in the process of getting three of them right now. After the initial three to four days of processing your $199 loses $40 of value for background checks which actually only cost $20. The other $20 is said to be an administration fee. So in February, had everyone who didn’t go after their Group 1 Life/Health license received a refund of $150, Primerica still profited $20 times 11,550 or $213,000.
Recruit. Recruit. Recruit.
Primerica asks their reps for quite a bit. Becoming a Primerica rep requires you to pay a $199 (now $99) fee and highly recommends paying a $25-a-month fee for access to Primerica Online as noted on page 108 of the prospectus. 100,000 reps times $25 a month equals $2.5 million a month from its own employees.
Of course, Primerica has a response
When you visit Primerica.com, you’re greeted with a lack of information and no way to find a local representative in your area. Furthermore, a blog setup by the company at AskPrimerica.com features a post with a video entitled “Primerica Scam: The Real Picture.” In this official blog post, Primerica attempts to defend itself by telling a sob story from the point of view of a current employee. The employee then speaks briefly in a video (embedded below) in which he talks about how Primerica is such a great “opportunity” and yet, never explains what the actual opportunity is.
To summarize, it must be said that we have no doubt Primerica is a legit business. Half a billion in net income is certainly nothing to scoff at either.
We shall see how investors feel once they procure an equity stake in the company when it trades under the NYSE ticker “PRI”.
| A life insurance policy is part of the estate-the issue is who is the owner. For example, if you had a $250,000 life insurance policy and the beneficiary was your children, that $250,000 would be included in your estate for estate tax purposes. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A: Your estate, for tax purposes, is the fair market value of everything you own at the time of your death. The estate includes all investments, personal items, home — basically everything
A life insurance policy is part of the estate. It doesn’t matter who the beneficiary of the policy is — the issue is who is the owner. For example, if you had a $250,000 life insurance policy and the beneficiary was your children, that $250,000 would be included in your estate for estate tax purposes.
Many people think life insurance is tax-free, but that is incorrect. It may be income tax-free, but not estate tax-free. Therefore, the proceeds of any life insurance policies are included in your estate.
Many high net worth individuals have life insurance policies, but they do not own the policies personally, they are owned by an irrevocable trust. In those situations, the proceeds are not included in one’s estate for estate tax purposes.
As a side note, many people buy life insurance for estate tax purposes. I am very cautious about recommending this strategy. On the whole, it is not something I recommend. However, there are situations where life insurance for estate tax purposes may be appropriate. Typically, those are for estates that are in the multimillion-dollar areas. For the great majority of people, buying life insurance merely for estate tax purposes makes no sense. Buying life insurance to provide liquidity or to support a loved one is a different issue.
As to our current estate tax law, you are correct that at this time there are no estate taxes. When Congress changed the estate tax law many years ago, it was a temporary fix. It was assumed that before 2010 the law would change. However, we all know how Washington works and because of all of the partisan bickering, the estate tax law has not changed.
However, that doesn’t mean it won’t. Unfortunately, it is possible and constitutionally permissible for Congress to pass a law with regards to estate taxes that would be retroactive to the beginning of this year. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is probably more likely than not that Congress will pass some sort of estate tax law this year and make it retroactive to the beginning of the year.
Congress can and has made laws retroactive.
Most Americans do not have to worry about estate taxes. However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to worry about estate planning.
I don’t believe taxation is the most important element of estate planning, but I do believe it is one element. The most important point when it comes to estate planning is making sure your property goes to your loved ones as fast and as painlessly as possible.
I sometimes joke that the goal of estate planning is to make sure that judges, courts and lawyers stay out of your family affairs. The reality is we all are going to leave this great Earth and whether we have a large estate or a very small estate, we all have to make sure we make things as easy as possible on our loved ones.
Most of us want to protect our loved ones and families throughout our lives, so we shouldn’t forget about that upon our deaths. Therefore, there’s no doubt that if you have a large estate, taxes are a consideration and to minimize those makes sense.
However, let’s not forget that estate planning is for every adult, no matter how rich or poor.
Good luck!
Metlife Offices
5900 N. Andrews Avenue
Suite 800
Ft.Lauderdale, FL 33309
Adominguez1@metlife.com
http://www.corporatelifeinsurancequote.com
954-331-5100 x7123
Life Insurance Quote by Cypress Financial Group,Metropolitan Life Insurance and Securities Company
| Life Insurance Quote? Call today or visit online? Cypress Financial Group in Ft. Lauderdale, FL services all of South FL. Offices:West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Aventura, Plantation,Miami,Coral Gables. Metropolitan Life Insurance and Securities Company |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Our Mission is simple: we are dedicated to enriching the quality of life for our clients. We do this by helping businesses, both large and small, in the following areas:
Providing qualified and non-qualified retirement benefit plans.
Establishing deferred compensation and salary continuation programs to protect and reward highly valued employees.
Implementing financial programs that address the needs of key executives.
Providing an analysis of existing benefit plans for the purpose of helping employers design and implement a voluntary benefit package that enhance the cost effectiveness and appeal of employer-provided programs.
Ongoing communications with employees and employers.
Conducting in-house seminars to address financial topics and strategies directly impacting today’s employees.
If your goal is to achieve financial freedom, we will help you pursue it. Because financial freedom means different things to different people, we take the time to understand what it means to you. No matter what stage of life or financial state you’re in, having a financial strategy is an important part of everyone’s life. Our goal is to give you the appropriate tools to help you understand your financial possibilities.
In a world crowded with new investments, changing tax laws, rapidly evolving insurance products and volatile economic cycles, more and more people are looking for a qualified financial professional to guide them. Financial Services Representatives offer value-added knowledge and experience that you may not be able to get from the traditional stockbroker, banker or accountant. We are able to take a view of your particular situation, help you identify your risks and possibilities, help you sort through choices and provide you with the right strategies and tools at the appropriate time.
At Cypress Financial Group, our representatives’ primary goal is to help you enjoy a comfortable lifestyle today, and look forward to a financially secure future by guiding you through today’s changing financial landscape. They will listen to and understand your financial needs so that they can assist you in identifying appropriate products and services to help you reach your financial goals. Whether it’s funding a college education, financing a wedding or pursuing the financial freedom to live our your dreams, we can help.
Our Products and Services
Protection Portfolio
BUSINESS SUCESSION AND ESTATE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
While we are not in the business of offering tax or legal advice, we can work with you and your professional advisors to help you select the most appropriate products and services for your personal situation and provide information in the areas of:
• Business Succession
• Income and Estate Tax Consequences of Qualified Plans
• Charitable Giving Strategies
• Long-Term Care Insurance
INCOME REPLACEMENT INSURANCE PRODUCTS*
Disability Income Insurance today plays a significant role in a financial strategy. We help you review and select features that are appropriate to your situation:
• Disability Income Protection
• Non-cancelable/Guaranteed Renewable Coverage available
• Benefits up to $15,000 a month
• Business Overhead Expense Insurance
• Multi Life Discounts
LIFE INSURANCE
• Variable Life, Universal Life and Whole Life Insurance
• Term Life Insurance
• Payroll Deduction Life Insurance
• Key Person Protection
• Accident Death & Dismemberment Coverage
BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES**
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
• Money Market Accounts
• Savings Accounts
Investments
MUTUAL FUNDS
FUNDING AND SERVICES FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALIFED PLANS
• Pension Plan Funding and Administration
• Profit Sharing and Money Purchase Plan Funding
• 401(k)
• Roth IRA
• SEP
FUNDING AND SERVICES FOR THE FOLLOWING NON-QUALIFIED PLANS
• Voluntary Benefits Plans
• Funding Options for Executive Bonus Plans
• Split Dollar Insurance
• Deferred Compensation/Salary Continuation Plans
* These policies provide disability income insurance only. They do NO provide basic hospital, basic medical or major medical insurance as defined by the New York State Insurance Department. The expected benefit ratio for these policies is at least 50% depending on the policy. This ratio is the portion of future premiums, which MetLife expects to return as benefits, when averaged over all people with the applicable policy.
** Banking products and services, including deposit accounts, available ONLY from MetLife Bank, NA, Member FDIC, a MetLife affiliated company. FDIC deposit insurance has temporarily increased from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, through December 31, 2013.
Investment products are not bank deposits, not insured by the FDIC, not guaranteed by or obligations of the bank, not insured by any Federal government agency, may go down in value and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principle amount invested.
Cypress Financial Group
5900 N. Andrews Avenue
Suite 800
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
***********CALL TODAY OR VISIT ONLINE TODAY*********
A Dominguez
Phone: 954.331.5100 x7123
Fax: 954.331.5050
http://www.corporatelifeinsurancequote.com
adominguez1@metlife.com
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), New York, NY 10166. Securities products offered by MetLife Securities, Inc. (MSI), Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered by Investment Adviser Representatives of MSI, a Registered Investment Adviser. MetLife Auto & Home is a brand of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and its affiliates: Economy Fire & Casualty Company, Economy Preferred Insurance Company, Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company, Metropolitan Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Company (CA Certificate of Authority: 6730; Warwick, RI), Metropolitan General Insurance Company, Metropolitan Group Property and Casualty Insurance Company (CA COA: 6393; Warwick, RI), and Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas, all with administrative home offices in Warwick, RI. Coverage, rates, and discounts are available in most states to those who qualify. All companies listed above are MetLife companies.
Cypress Financial Group
5900 N. Andrews Avenue
Suite 800
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
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A Dominguez
Phone: 954.331.5100 x7123
Fax: 954.331.5050
adominguez1@metlife.com