Views & Vents

Corey Sherman was recently named “Views & Vents” columnist for Employee Benefit News. 
In these thought-provoking articles, Corey explores the changing world of benefits and
provides insights on the immediate and long-term impact for both employers and employees.

To access “Views & Vents” online, simply use the links below, or CLICK HERE to go directly to
the latest column.  And please be sure to leave a comment below the text, letting us know
your opinions on the “topic of the month.”

While you’re there, you’ll want to check out the rest of BenefitNews.com.  It’s an outstanding source of information about recent developments and emerging issues in employee benefits.

• March 2008 – GAO on Public Pensions: Oops! They Did it Again
  Public-sector retirement plans are ailing, but the cure is worse than the disease. Find out why the GAO is even further off track than what we told you a year ago.
   
• January 2008 – When the Chickens Come Home to Roost
  At long last, GASB is requiring governments to follow the same retiree health care accounting rules as the private sector. Here's what to expect when the chickens come home to roost.
   
• November 2007 – On “Barking Oneself”
  In this month’s column, we look at the relationship between employers and their consultants. These “tails” of projects gone wrong will resonate with both HR professionals and advisors.
   
• October 2007 – Pretty to Think So
  Recent reports suggest that health cost trends are declining. But a closer look shows that what the system is not working. Costs are both on the rise and poised to increase even faster. And most plan-design changes will only ensnare employers in a steeper cost spiral. Read our October Employee Benefit News column to see why so many benefit professionals want you to keep looking through the wrong end of the telescope.
   
• September 2007 – Pension Apocalypse, Now
  The Financial Accounting Standards Board will conduct the “second phase” of person reform with the International Accounting Standards Board. For pension eschatologists, it’s an ominous portent – the benefits equivalent of FASB in bed with Babylon. Click here to explore the implications of this unholy alliance.
   
  
• August 2007 – Will Employers Shine in the Media Spotlight on Health Care?
  Our August Employee Benefit News column focuses again on health care. Is the system fixable? Or is it like global warming, where we profess support for change, yet balk at specific solutions? Click here to see why the problems with our national health care system will ultimate fall back – on you.
  
  
• July 2007 – Why Being Prisoners of Health Care – May be the GOOD News
  Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance relative to other countries. We are among the world’s worst in five criteria of a high-performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity and healthy lives. We not only overpay – we also invest in all the wrong things. To find out why being “Prisoners” of health care may be the least of our problems, click here.
  
  
• April 2007 – Prisoners of Health Care
  Over 20% of U.S. employers now offer consumer-directed health plans. They'd hoped their employees, supported by extensive on-line tools, would use benefits more wisely. But the new plans have had trouble delivering on their promises, making early-adopting employers "prisoners" — in a Village from which they can't escape. What we’d been told was the way out of spiraling health-care costs may simply be another way back in. Here’s why.
  
  
• February 2007 – How the GAO Got It All Wrong – Again
  
  
• January 2007 – The Elusive Appeal of Income for Life