GOLDEN & COHEN: In the News

This month, Golden & Cohen was quoted in a variety of interesting publications! Check out what Scott Golden and Stephanie Cohen told reporters about the insurance business. 

OURBLOOK.com, August 6, 2009 — A website that offers innovative solutions to today’s problems, OurBlook today posted an interview with Scott Golden, chief financial officer of Golden & Cohen, a health benefits consulting company in the Washington, DC area.  Read on to learn more.

Ourblook: President Obama has made it clear he isn’t working to set up a precursor to a single-payer health care system. Meanwhile, the insurance industry says that any version of a public plan will kill private industry. Is there any precedent for a public/private partnership in health insurance?

Scott Golden: The way the proposal is being described, there are no partnerships, so the public plan would compete against private plans. There is nothing on point with this scenario to date, which is why there is great speculation as to what might happen. Read More...

BANKRATE.COM, August 20, 2009— In today’s issue of Bankrate.com, an article by reporter Melissa Ezarik about insuring college students featured Golden & Cohen CFO Scott Golden.

In her discussion about whether parents should consider a lower-premium plan, which might seem like the best way to save a few bucks, Ezarik asked Golden whether such plans might expose families to substantially higher costs if a medical calamity were to occur?

"In any analysis, the devil will be in the details," says Scott Golden, chief financial officer and co-founder of the Maryland-based health benefits firm Golden & Cohen.  "If the price is very low, there is a reason." Read More...

BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, July 24, 2009 — In an article entitled, "Complexity, cost concern local insurers," featured in Baltimore Business Journal, reporter Elizabeth Heubeck wrote:

If Scott Golden were a gambling man, he wouldn’t bet on the U.S. government creating a federally run universal health care system.  "I think Obama is using that as a threat so that the insurance carriers will step up and put in their own price controls," said Golden, co-founder of the Gaithersburg-based health benefits consulting firm Golden & Cohen. Given this scenario, Golden envisions insurance carriers saving money by "spending less, giving less to brokers, or requiring that subscribers pay more." Ultimately, Golden believes, brokers like him will make less money. Read More...

PHYSICIAN’S MONEY DIGEST,July 14, 2009 — "From real estate to the job market, the current recession has impacted just about everyone and every segment of the economy," writes reporter Ed Rabinowitz in a July 14 article published in Physician’s Money Digest. "However, according to an article in the New York Times, concierge medical practices, while certainly not recession-proof, do not appear to have been impacted as severely as might have been expected.  Consumers/patients are still forking over $1,500 per year and up for what is promised to be personalized care and around-the-clock access."

Rabinowitz writes: According to Scott Golden, chief financial officer of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen, for physicians with a loyal following, the opportunity exists through the concierge model to make equal or more money than before, see fewer patients, and practice medicine the way they want.  And he expects that trend to continue. "One of the goals of the Obama Administration is to get the uninsured in the system," Golden says. "That means more people and probably the same amount of doctors, so you’re going to see the same [access] problem getting worse. But only the practices that can deliver on their promises will be able to survive." Read More...

New this month

Golden & Cohen is proud to announce a partnership with ADP

ADP is the leading provider of payroll and HR consulting to small and medium-sized companies.  They will be assisting our clients to:

• Reduce employment-related exposure
• Attract and retain top talent
• Streamline HR functions in order to free valuable time to focus on your core business growth

If you would like a brief overview of ADP’s services, please contact John DiFabio at 301-788-9626 or Stephanie Cohen at phone: 301-330-5300, x140 / cell: 202-412-2341 / email: stephanie@golden-cohen.com.

Goodman & Company is offering Golden & Cohen clients membership in its HR Partnership Program

Through our new offering, the HR Partnership Program from the human resources firm Goodman & Company, Golden & Cohen clients now have affordable on-demand access to seasoned HR consultants. 

Victoria McCoy, manager of HR consulting at Goodman & Company, says: "We will also provide regular communications on changes in HR-related regulations and trends impacting employers today." She notes that the HR Advisor program was designed to provide question-and-answer support to small to medium-sized businesses that may not have the need for full-time HR support, but still require guidance in human resources management. 

McCoy says that examples of frequently asked questions from clients include:

• What is an "exempt" employee?
• Can you require exempt employees to use PTO to complete a 40-hour work week?
• What are we allowed to withhold from employees’ paychecks?
• How long do we have to keep I-9 forms?
• Do we have to copy documents for I-9 forms?
• Does the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) apply to our organization?
• When do COBRA documents have to be sent to employees that have been terminated?

This affordable service begins at $25 per month and is based on the size of the organization. Golden & Cohen clients also benefit from participating in Goodman & Company’s HR Partnership Program and receive a 20% discount on other services (see below).