The Conference Board Release: Health Care Experts To Meet In New York And San Diego

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Top health care executives from leading companies will examine strategies to manage costs and talent in a tough business environment at The Conference Board’s 2005 Employee Health Care Conference. This meeting will be held February 3-4 in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria and March 2-3 in San Diego at the Coronado Island Marriott.

This meeting is sponsored by Towers Perrin and is presented with assistance from WebMD, Aetna, and Humana.

The opening session, “Managing Health Care Costs and Retaining Talent in a Tough Business Environment,” will feature Jim Foreman, Managing Director, Health and Welfare, Towers Perrin; Robert M. Amen, President, International Paper; and Jerome N. Carter, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, International Paper.

“Strategy Implementation: Success Depends on What You Do, but Also How You Do It” will be examined by Robert B. Weinman, Vice President, Employee Benefits, Prudential Financial; Louis A. Baviello, Vice President, Total Compensation & HRIT, Rolls-Royce North America Inc. (San Diego); and Shelly Stewart, Director of Benefits Strategy, Cummins Inc.

The luncheon session, “The Employee Online Behavior Study: Results of the Second Annual WebMD Survey of Large Employers,” will feature Craig Froude, Senior Vice President and General Manager, WebMD Health Services Group.

“Consumer-Driven Health Care: A Closer Look at the Nuts and Bolts” will be explored by Tami Graham, Manager, U.S. Benefits, Intel Corporation, and Richard Spriggle, Vice President, Human Resources, Dana Corporation (San Diego).

“Managing Quality and Costs Through Provider Choice” will be addressed by David J. Corkum, Head of Northeast Region, Aetna (New York); Charles M. Cutler, M.D., M.S., National Medical Director for Quality, Aetna (San Diego); Charles A. Peck, M.D., FACPE, Head of Healthcare Delivery, Northeast Region, Aetna (New York); and Michael T. Robinson, Vice President, Region Head, West Region National Accounts, Aetna (San Diego).

“Managing Vendors for Superior Performance” will be explored by Eileen M. Church, Benefits Officer, Federal Reserve, Employee Benefits System, and Marty Martin, Vice President, Benefits, The McGraw-Hill Companies (New York).

“Issues for Mid-Sized Employees” will be presented by Ruth Whitener, Vice President, Benefits Planning, The Northern Trust Company (New York).

“Pharmacy Management: Core Principles, Leading-Edge Practices” will be examined by Melissa Metzgar, Director of Global Benefits, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (San Diego).

“Financial Management: Principles and Practices for Success” will be addressed by Bob Restivo, Director Health and Welfare, General Dynamics (New York).

“New Approaches to Health Benefits Through Consumerism” will be presented by Michael B. McCallister, President and CEO, Humana Inc.

“Achieving Optimal Program Performance: The Role of Communication and Change Management” and “Coverage, Care and Lifestyle Choice: ‘The Three Cs’ of Consumerism” will be explored by Michelle Z. Killian, Head of Benefits Planning and Design, GlaxoSmithKline Inc.

“Improving Program Performance and Success with Employee Research” will be presented by Bernie Knobbe, Senior Director, Global Benefits, Gap Inc.

“Measurement and Reporting for Total Health Management” will be examined by a panel featuring Larry Yuhasz, Director, Business Intelligence, WebMD Health Services Group; Shakti Jauhar, Director of Health & Welfare Plans, PepsiCo; and Virginia Nisbet, Director of Health Strategy, American Airlines.

Members of the press are invited to attend this meeting without charge. To register, please call (212) 339-0231, or email f.tortorici@conference-board.org. A full copy of the program is available on The Conference Board’s website -- http://www.tcb.org/.

The Conference Board

CONTACT: Frank Tortorici, The Conference Board, +1-212-339-0231