The states that are dying for healthcare coverage

By Alexander E.M. Hess and Samuel Weigley, 24/7 Wall St.

The lack of medical coverage in America is a serious problem as approximately 50 million people were uninsured all through 2010. But the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed in 2010, was constitutional. The legislation, once implemented in its entirety, is expected to cover 30 million Americans currently lacking coverage.

The lack of medical insurance has had grave consequences for individuals and the nation. In 2010 alone, 26,100 people died because they had no health insurance ? that amounts to 502 preventable deaths a week. However, some states fared better than others. Based on the latest report by Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 people due to a lack of insurance.

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Not surprisingly, nearly all of the states with the most residents dying due to a lack of insurance also had high numbers of uninsured residents. Seven of the states on the list were among the 10 states with the highest percentage of people without health coverage. Seven of the states were also in the bottom 10 for the lowest rates of private insurance coverage.

People without health insurance often forgo medical treatment for different reasons. According to Families USA, a supporter of President Obama?s health care reform law, uninsured adults are nearly four times more likely than insured adults to delay or avoid preventive care screening due to cost. Uninsured adults are also nearly seven times more likely to go without needed care due to cost than privately insured adults.

?You still see a very, very strong correlation between uninsurance and poor health-care outcomes ? including mortality ? and [that is] because people aren?t getting the type of care that they need,? Kim Bailey, the research director for Families USA, told 24/7 Wall St.

Many of the states with high death rates due to a lack of insurance also were among the poorest states in the country. The top seven states on this list also are among the 10 states with the highest poverty rates. Every state on this list is in the top half.

Poor health also appears to play an important role. States with high death rates due to lack of insurance had a high percentage of people with lifestyle-related risk factors for poor health. Of the states on our list, five of them have among the 10 highest percentages of smokers and among the 10 lowest percentages of people who eat vegetables at least three times a day. Four have among the 10 highest proportions of overweight or obese adults. Seven states on the list were in the bottom 10 in terms of life expectancy.

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Based on Families USA?s report, ?Dying for Coverage: The Deadly Consequences of Being Uninsured,? 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest number of deaths from being uninsured per 100,000 residents. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the methodology used by Families USA, first developed in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine, to determine?excess mortality from being uninsured. This method considers the proportion of?people who are insured and uninsured, the mortality risks for the uninsured and the number of expected deaths from a hypothetical fully insured population. 24/7 Wall St. also identified poverty rates and median income by state, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Kaiser Family Foundation?s website ? Statehealthfacts.org ? provided health-related data, including life expectancy, obesity and diabetes rate.

These are the 10 states dying for health coverage.

1. Mississippi
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?15.82
? Percent of population uninsured:?18.2 percent (ninth highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?22.4 percent (tied for the highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?74.81 years (The lowest)

Many residents of Mississippi cannot afford insurance. The state has the lowest median income in the nation and the highest percentage of residents living below the poverty line. As a result, Mississippi has the second-lowest percentage of residents with private health insurance coverage, at 56.49 percent. Exacerbating the problem, residents are especially unhealthy. Among all states, Mississippi has the second-highest obesity rate, the second-highest percentage of adults with diabetes and the fifth-highest percentage of adult smokers in the nation. Probably on account of both high uninsurance rates and poor personal health, Mississippi is the only state where life expectancy was below 75 years at birth in 2010. Mississippi?s excess death rate was the highest among all states and twice that of 28 states in 2010.

2. Louisiana
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?14.94
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.8 percent (10th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.7 percent (sixth highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?75.39 years (fourth lowest)

Louisiana has one of the lowest life expectancies at birth in the U.S. at 75.4 years. Though much of this certainly can be attributed to poor health choices ? the state has a higher number of smokers and its residents eat comparatively little fruit or vegetables ? the inability of?many residents to receive proper care due to lack of insurance is also a contributing factor. In Louisiana, 17.8 percent of the population goes without health insurance, despite the fact that 21.9 percent of the population qualifies for Medicaid ? the fifth-highest proportion among all 50 states. The high uninsurance rate is partly due to the relative economic disadvantage of the state?s residents. With 18.7 percent of residents living below the poverty line ? the sixth-highest rate in the nation ? and a median income that is more than $5,000 lower than the U.S. average, just 58.39 percent of state residents have private insurance. That is the fourth-lowest such rate in the nation.

3. Arkansas
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?13.49
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.5 percent (tied for 12th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.8 percent (fifth highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?76.09 years (sixth lowest)

According to the Council for Community and Economic Research?s ACCRA Cost of Living Index, Arkansas had the second-lowest cost of health care in the United States. However, with 18.8 percent of the population living below the poverty line and a median annual household income of just $38,307 ? both among the lowest figures for any state ? many Arkansans cannot afford private health coverage. As a result, just 58.78 percent of the population has private insurance, the sixth-lowest figure in the country.

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4. South Carolina
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?13.48
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.5 percent (tied for 12th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.2 percent (seventh highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?76.57 years (ninth lowest)

South Carolina is not a particularly healthy state: 67.4 percent of the state?s residents are either overweight or obese, just 23.3 percent eat proper amounts of fruit, only 22.9 percent eat proper amounts of vegetables and 10.7 percent are diabetic. All of these are among the highest rates in the country. Meanwhile, much of the cost of health care falls to private individuals. The state spent about $6,300 per person on health care in 2009, among the lowest levels, and just 51.9 percent of residents have employer-based health coverage. Unfortunately, South Carolinians have trouble affording insurance on their own: Median income was just $42,000 in 2010, significantly lower than the $50,000 national average, 18.2 percent of residents live below the poverty line and the cost of health care is higher than is the case in many states.

5. New Mexico
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?12.15
? Percent of population uninsured:?19.6 percent (sixth highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?20.4 percent (tied for the highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?78.21 years (20th lowest)

New Mexico has a fairly healthy population, with relatively low heart disease and obesity rates. However, just 55.8 percent of residents have private health insurance ? the lowest rate of any state in the country. One possible reason is that few employers provide insurance ? just 45.6 percent of the population has employer-based health coverage. The relative poverty of the state also means many residents cannot afford medical coverage. The median income in the state was just above $42,000 in 2010, far below the national median of about $50,000, while 20.4 percent of people live below the poverty line ? the highest rate in the country.

Click here to read the rest of 24/7 Wall St.'s analysis of states' death rates

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/01/12419471-the-states-that-are-dying-for-healthcare-coverage?lite

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Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan civilians

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Police say a roadside bomb has killed five Afghan civilians in an eastern province.

Deputy provincial police chief Maj. Mohammad Hussain says a bus full of people struck the explosives Sunday morning while driving near Ghazni city, capital of the province of the same name. He says another 11 people were wounded, and the dead include women and children. The bus was traveling from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-01-Afghanistan/id-c9cc241f773041ca9c5c4b5caff44e7c

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Study finds new gene mutations that lead to enlarged brain size, cancer, autism, epilepsy

Study finds new gene mutations that lead to enlarged brain size, cancer, autism, epilepsy

Monday, July 2, 2012

A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly. Mutations in three genes, AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA, were also found to be associated with a constellation of disorders including cancer, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, vascular anomalies and skin growth disorders. The study, "De novo germline and postzygotic mutations in AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA cause a spectrum of related megalencephaly syndromes," was published online June 24 in Nature Genetics.

The discovery offers several important lessons and hope for the future in medicine. First, the research team discovered additional proof that the genetic make-up of a person is not completely determined at the moment of conception. Researchers previously recognized that genetic changes may occur after conception, but this was believed to be quite rare. Second, discovery of the genetic causes of these human diseases, including developmental disorders, may also lead directly to new possibilities for treatment.

AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA are present in all humans, but mutations in the genes are what lead to conditions including megalencephaly, cancer and other disorders. PIK3CA is a known cancer-related gene, and appears able to make cancer more aggressive. Scientists at Boston Children's Hospital recently published similar findings related to PIK3CA and a rare condition known as CLOVES syndrome in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Physician researcher James Olson, MD, PhD, a pediatric cancer expert at Seattle Children's and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who was not affiliated with the study, acknowledged the two decades-worth of work that led to the findings. "This study represents ideal integration of clinical medicine and cutting-edge genomics," he said. "I hope and believe that the research will establish a foundation for successfully using drugs that were originally developed to treat cancer in a way that helps normalize intellectual and physical development of affected children. The team 'knocked it out of the park' by deep sequencing exceptionally rare familial cases and unrelated cases to identify the culprit pathway." The genes? AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA?all encode core components of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (P13K)/AKT pathway, the "culprit pathway" referenced by Olson.

The research provides a first, critical step in solving the mystery behind chronic childhood conditions and diseases. At the bedside, children with these conditions could see new treatments in the next decade. "This is a huge finding that provides not only new insight for certain brain malformations, but also, and more importantly, provides clues for what to look for in less severe cases and in conditions that affect many children," said William Dobyns, MD, a geneticist at Seattle Children's Research Institute. "Kids with cancer, for example, do not have a brain malformation, but they may have subtle growth features that haven't yet been identified. Physicians and researchers can now take an additional look at these genes in the search for underlying causes and answers."

Researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute will now delve more deeply into the findings, with an aim to uncover even more about the potential medical implications for children. "Based on what we've found, we believe that we can eventually reduce the burden of and need for surgery for kids with hydrocephalus and change the way we treat other conditions, including cancer, autism and epilepsy," said Jean-Baptiste Rivi?re, PhD, at Seattle Children's Research Institute. "This research truly helps advance the concept of personalized medicine."

Drs. Dobyns, Rivi?re and team made this discovery through exome sequencing, a strategy used to selectively sequence the coding regions of the genome as an inexpensive but effective alternative to whole genome sequencing. An exome is the most functionally relevant part of a genome, and is most likely to contribute to the phenotype, or observed traits and characteristics, of an organism.

###

Seattle Children's: http://www.seattlechildrens.org

Thanks to Seattle Children's for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/121390/Study_finds_new_gene_mutations_that_lead_to_enlarged_brain_size__cancer__autism__epilepsy

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PostmediaNews: #cdpoli Blog: The graves of Canada?s deceased prime ministers: How much work do they need? http://t.co/xduv5vC8

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SAP HR Payroll Support Specialist ? All jobs (page 2)

ConocoPhillips is the world?s largest independent upstream energy company, based on proved reserves and production of liquids and natural gas. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company had operations in almost 30 countries and approximately 16,700 employees as of May 1, 2012, with 2011 average production of 1.62 million BOE per day and proved reserves of 8.4 billion BOE as of Dec. 31, 2011. Description: ? ConocoPhillips Information Technology (IT) provides technical services to the ConocoPhillips network.?? This position is a part of our SAP US payroll functional support team.??Primary focus will be?supporting US payroll processes including?finance integration, 3rd party remittance, year-end/quarterly tax reporting processes, SAP tax reporter, BSI tax process,?schema/rules support and payroll?payment processes.?? ? ? Responsibilities may include: The SAP HR Payroll Specialist will be responsible for:?

• Individual will have responsibility for business analysis and support for SAP HR/Payroll within the ConocoPhillips' global SAP instance?
• Primary support focus will be on the SAP US Payroll configuration related processes; specifically FI posting, 3rd party remittance, Tax Reporter, quarterly/year-end reporting processes.?
• Activities include system configuration/design, payroll schema/rule support, issue analysis and resolution, functional integration testing, implementation projects and other tasks related to SAP HR/Payroll
• Individual must work well in team environment
• Working directly with end-users on training, knowledge transfer, and issue resolution related to SAP US Payroll
• Filling the role of ?knowledge expert? for SAP US Payroll
• This is a working/hands-on position, not a coordinator/supervisor role

? Basic/Required:?

• Legally authorized to work in the United States
• 5+ years experience in SAP US Payroll Support and configuration
• Experience in the support/creation/maintenance of SAP Payroll schemas and rules
• Experience with SAP payroll and finance integration (3rd Party Remittance, Posting)
• Experience with SAP Garnishment setup and processing
• Experience with SAP US Off-Cycle Payroll and Process Models??

? Preferred:?

• Bachelor's Degree
• Experience with setup and maintenance of the BSI Tax Tool for US Payroll tax calculation
• Experience with SAP US Tax Reporter; including both setup and actual support of Federal and State quarterly and year-end tax reporting processes and forms (W2, 940, 941, W2C, etc.)
• Experience with US Tax Reconciliation and reporting including the SAP
• Payroll Adjustment Workbench
• Experience in the support of other Countries SAP Payroll
• Must have good testing and documentation skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential
• Must work with internal & external clients, other Production Support team members
• Attention to detail is critical
• Strong analytical/technical skills

? ? In order to be considered for this position you must complete the entire application process, which includes answering all prescreening questions and providing your eSignature on or before the requisition closing date of?July 12, 2012.? ? Candidates for regular U.S. positions must be a U.S. citizen or national, or an alien admitted as permanent resident, refugee, asylee or temporary resident under 8 U.S.C. 1160(a) or 1255(a)(1).? Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, or TN or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.? ConocoPhillips is an equal opportunity employer

Source: http://www.miscojobs.com/jobs/job_569787.htm

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Felix, Merritt make noise at US track trials

Allyson Felix celebrates her first place finish in the women's 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Allyson Felix celebrates her first place finish in the women's 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Allyson Felix, right, and Jeneba Tarmoh embrace after the finish of the women's 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore. Felix won the 200 but she and Tarmoh tied for third place in the 100 meters. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Allyson Felix celebrates her first place finish in the women's 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aries Merritt celabrates winning the men's 110 meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Aries Merritt, right, lunges past Jason Richardson to win the men's 110 meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 30, 2012, in Eugene, Ore.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) ? Allyson Felix might be grabbing all the attention at the U.S. Olympic trials. She isn't the only one peaking there, however.

Moments before Felix won the 200-meter sprint in a personal-best 21.69 seconds Saturday night, Aries Merritt also notched his lowest mark, winning the 110 hurdles in a world-best 12.93 seconds to earn his spot in London.

Wearing bright yellow socks that blurred with each stride, Felix finished well ahead of Carmelita Jeter in 22.11 and Sanya Richards-Ross in 22.22.

In the 110 hurdles, Jason Richardson, the reigning world champion, was second in 12.98 and Jeffrey Porter finished third in 13.08 to round out the U.S. team.

The seventh day of the Olympic trials at Hayward Field started with Trevor Barron's American record of 1 hour, 23 minutes in the 20,000-meter race walk.

But still hanging over the event was last weekend's third-place tie in the women's 100 meters, and it put all the attention on the 200.

Felix and training partner Jeneba Tarmoh finished the 100 in a dead heat that caught U.S. track officials off-guard with no policy in place to resolve it.

USA track and field announced a tiebreaking procedure the next day, but Bobby Kersee, coach of both women, said he wanted to wait until after Saturday's 200 to decide how to break the tie, either by a runoff, coin flip, or if one athlete concedes.

A decision was expected Sunday morning, the final day of the trials.

Because the top three finishers in each event make the Olympic team, USATF wanted the issue resolved by Sunday night. But the U.S. Olympic Committee has a Tuesday deadline for naming the team.

Tarmoh finished fifth in the 200, the day's final competition, and didn't earn a spot.

"I guess it was all about fighting to make the team," Felix said. "It's emotional to try and make the team after putting in all the hours and work on the track. I wanted to leave it all out on the track today."

Dancing in the pit after each clearance, Chaunte Lowe earned her fifth national outdoor title in the high jump. She won at 6 feet, 7 inches.

Brigetta Barrett finished second after successfully clearing 6-7, a personal best, and veteran Amy Acuff was third at 6-4 3/4 for the other two spots on the team for the London Games. It will be Acuff's fifth Olympics.

Acuff said she was burned out after Beijing in 2008. But after he daughter was born two years ago, the 37-year-old decided to try to make one more team.

"Deep down I felt like I had unfinished business. That's ultimately what motivates me to come back," she said. "I was fourth place in Athens. You always want another shot at it."

Lowe broke the meet record of 6-6 1/2 set by Louise Ritter in 1988.

Hyleas Fountain won her fifth national title in the heptathlon, finishing with 6,419 points. Sharon Day was second with 6,343 points and Chante McMillan finished third with 6,188.

Fountain won the silver medal in Beijing, becoming the only the second American woman to earn an Olympic medal in the event after Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

"I didn't really have any pressure out here. I knew that if I didn't do anything too crazy, I could go out there and make the team," Fountain said.

Reigning world champion Christian Taylor won the triple jump with a leap of 57-10 1/4. Former Florida teammate Will Claye, who finished third at the world championships last year, also earned a spot on the team as the runner-up at 57-7. Third-place finisher Walter Davis did not have the Olympic "A'' standard to make the team.

Jason Richardson set the tone in the 110-meter hurdles by running his semifinal in 12.98 seconds, just off of the world-best time this year of 12.97 that China's Liu Xiang ran in May.

Richardson said he's the 13th person to go under 13 seconds, so he's getting a tattoo to commemorate moment.

"It's an amazing feeling," he said.

But Merritt, arms akimbo, pushed at the finish for the win over Richardson in the final. Richardson finished in 12:98.

Merritt's previous best in the event was 13.03, which he ran this spring.

"I had a great start and I'm a build hurdler ? I get faster as I go," Merritt said. "I fulfilled my dream today."

The women's 200 was easily the most anticipated event of the day. With the tiebreaker debacle as a backdrop, Felix never looked back to check the competition. She didn't need too: Her broad smile at the finish showed that she was well aware of what she'd done.

Felix's personal best before Saturday was 21.81.

"I was thrilled with my race," the six-time U.S. champion said. "I feel like everything came together."

Jeter won the disputed 100 meters last Saturday, and Richards-Ross claimed victory earlier in the week with a meet-record in the 400.

The day, which was drizzly and chilly, started with 19-year-old Barron breaking the race walk record of 1:23:40.00 set by his coach, Tim Seaman, in 2000. Barron also broke the meet record of 1:25:40.00, set by Seaman in 2004.

Seaman, a two-time Olympian, finished second in 1:27:29.48 and Nick Christie was third in 1:29:47.30, but neither made the team because they did not have the Olympic standard 1:22:30 this season.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-01-OLY-ATH-Track-Trials/id-de835d7450cf424bb2d93b6ea849d777

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Mt. Diablo Health Care District seeks to cash out Concord mayor's lifetime health benefits

Concord Mayor Ron Leone stands to cash out a lifetime health care benefit for possibly hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars, courtesy of a perk he earned during his 16-year stint as a part-time elected director of a small hospital district.

The soon-to-be-downsized Mt. Diablo Health Care District is seeking to settle up its legal obligation to provide coverage to Leone -- who also is covered under Concord's medical plan -- and current board member Grace Ellis, 85, the only two people eligible for the lucrative benefit awarded years ago.

There is nothing illegal about the payoff, but the public has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the idea of elected officials -- particularly part-timers -- earning free lifetime benefits while city and county services are slashed and voters are asked to pay more taxes to keep those services intact.

Leone says he will accept a cash payout as long as a third party manages the funds and all remaining dollars after his death revert to taxpayers.

"I"m not looking for a check," said 61-year-old Leone, who served on the health care board from 1991-2006 and was elected to the Concord City Council in 2010. "What I am looking for is the benefit guaranteed to me in exchange for my service on the health care district."

But the path to resolution is a twisted one fraught with political implications for the Concord mayor.

Leone became eligible for the free lifetime medical and dental insurance

for himself, his wife and two children in 2003.

Faced with skyrocketing premiums for the CalPERS plan that approached $2,000 a month apiece, the district in late 2011 asked Leone and Ellis to accept cheaper alternatives.

Ellis enrolled in Medicare and a supplemental plan, which cut the district's costs by more than half.

Leone agreed to sign up for Concord's health plan as long as the district covered his out-of-pocket costs, which he estimated at $580 a month.

The mayor and the district, as it turned out, defined "cost" very differently:

For a period of time that Leone had received free benefits from the health care district, he also had collected from Concord an equivalent health insurance cash payment of $571 a month. It's a perk offered to all workers and employees who opt out of the city's health plan.

When Leone agreed to switch from the district to the city's plan last November, he asked the district for $550 a month based on his loss of the city's payment. The district paid him at this rate from January through May.

But when the district found out Leone's premium cost him only $104 a month, it cut the councilman's cash payments accordingly. The district's push to pay off its liability comes in anticipation of local regulators' vote this summer to disband the district's five-member elected board and shift to the Concord City Council its few duties and small pot of tax revenues.

"I'm going to do the best I can to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," said Health Care District Chairman Jeff Kasper. "Once we agree on a dollar amount, the district could write Ron a check and he can purchase an annuity or do whatever he wants to do. And we will do the same for Grace."

If Leone and Ellis agree -- and they could refuse -- the dollar amount will depend on the outcome of the negotiations.

The district's May analysis puts the combined value of the pair's benefits at $218,304 although a prior study set the figure at $713,660. The decline was attributed to the pair's voluntary shift in late 2011 to cheaper plans.

The district has been under fire over the free lifetime health benefit for years.

Four Contra Costa civil grand juries and a Contra Costa regulatory agency have cited the expense as an unreasonable use of public money and a reason to shut down the district, which hasn't run a hospital since 1996.

The district spent $455,144 between 2000-2011 on medical and dental premiums for Ellis and Leone, according to an independent consultant. During the same period, the consultant found the district spent the bulk of its $240,000-a-year in property tax receipts on administrative, legal and election costs.

State lawmakers in 1994 banned the provision of health benefits to elected special district board members unless they met specific criteria, including having served at least 12 years. Most of the district's liability is for the much-younger Leone. The district has asked its consultant to provide updated individual estimates, Kasper said.

A lump sum payout is a reasonable option, agreed pension and benefits expert Gary Craft of Lafayette, who recently conducted an analysis of public employee retirement costs for the Contra Costa Council.

Leone and Ellis would likely invest the money or purchase an annuity, and use the proceeds to buy coverage, Craft said. The district would no longer fund or manage their plan.

The move carries some risk, Craft said.

"You don't know what the future will bring," Craft said. "Health care costs could escalate and the payout might not be enough. On the other hand, the district could shut down and they could lose the benefit. But in theory, (Leone and Ellis) will be made whole and the district will have satisfied its legal obligation."

Contact Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-945-4773, lvorderbrueggen@bayareanewsgroup.com, www.ibabuzz.com/politics or at Twitter.com/lvorderbrueggen.

Source: http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_20965260/mt-diablo-health-care-district-seeks-cash-out?source=rss

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