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Leading Minds in Business, Benefits, Human Resources, and Health Care Policy Come Together at Sun Life Wake Up Summit 2013

The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF, TSX: SLF) today confirmed a group of six expert panelists for its first Sun Life Wake Up Summit on health care reform. Each brings a specific area of expertise and point of view to the health care conversation, guaranteeing a broad perspective on a complex issue affecting brokers, employers and employees.

The panel for this in-depth program, scheduled for October 1, features the foremost benefits and health care policy experts, who will lead thought-provoking discussions about the changing U.S. workplace and provide insurance brokers and employers with practical advice on how to prepare for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The issue is taking on added urgency, as public health insurance exchanges are scheduled to open for business on October 1. 

Esteemed panelists include:

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Michael W. Ferguson, COO of the non-profit Self Insurance Institute of America: promotes self-insurance as an alternative risk transfer strategy for employers looking to finance their group care and worker’s compensation.

Carol Harnett, Health and disability consultant and employee benefits expert: creates strategies to decrease or maintain benefits costs, improve employee performance and improve corporate profitability.

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Barbara Gniewek, Principal in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Human Resource Practice and consultant to providers and purchasers: consults with mid-size and large employers on all aspects of health plan strategy.

Dr. Jeff Bauer, Health futurist and medical economist: focuses on the future of health care and practical approaches to improving health care delivery.

Anat Baron, Former Head of Mike's Hard Lemonade and change strategist: expert in reacting to and exploiting change in business.

Coleman H. Peterson, CEO of HR consultancy Hollis Enterprises and former Chief Human Resource Officer at Wal-Mart: expert in recruitment, development and retention of very large workforces, stressing leadership development and diversity.

“We are honored to feature such a varied group of experts for our first Sun Life Wake Up Summit,” said Wes Thompson, president of Sun Life Financial U.S. “When it comes to health care reform, we know that having one piece of the puzzle is insufficient. Brokers, employers and HR professionals need the whole puzzle to make decisions that are right for them. We’re confident that the diversity of these panels will provide attendees with a 360-degree view of the ACA.”

The first panel, “Health Care Reform: A Practical Guide for Your Company,” featuring Ferguson, Harnett, Gniewek, Dr. Bauer and Coleman, will focus on what brokers, employers and HR professionals need to consider in the short term regarding the ACA, including common misconceptions about reform, the best and worst aspects of the law, dealing with its complexities, impact and opportunity for brokers and how to tame unintended consequences.

The second panel, “Health Care 2020: What Will Tomorrow’s Health Care Look Like?” will bring together Dr. Bauer, Coleman and Baron for a discussion on the future of health care and workplace benefits, including how practices being implemented today will change the American workplace of 2020.

“Sun Life wants to change the way people think and talk about employee benefits,” Thompson said. “The Sun Life Wake Up Summit is one part of this strategy—bringing together some of the smartest minds in the fields of insurance and health care reform to have thoughtful discussions about one of the most defining issues of our time,”

Juan Williams, Emmy Award-winning journalist and Fox News Contributor, will moderate the panels, which will be preceded by a keynote address, “Health Care Reform Now: Facts, Rumors, True Stories,” by Dr. Jonathan Gruber. Dr. Gruber is an M.I.T. professor of economics, renowned health care expert and key advisor on both Massachusetts’ health care reform legislation and the ACA. His keynote will address the economic principles behind reform, its goals and how it works in practice.

 

The Sun Life Wake Up Summit will take place on Tuesday, October 1 from 1:00-4:00pm ET. it will be broadcast in front of a live studio audience from WCVB TV-5 studios in Needham, Mass. and streamed live from Sun Life’s U.S. website.

Brokers, HR professionals, third-party administrators and business owners interested in attending the Sun Life Wake Up Summit can register for the entire program or individual segments at http://www.sunlife.com/wakeup and can follow on twitter using #SLFSummit. 

Follow Sun Life Financial in the U.S. at www.twitter.com/sunlifeus, www.facebook.com/SLFunitedstates or www.linkedin/com/company/sun-life-financial.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, and Bermuda. In the United States and elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the Sun Life Financial group that are insurance companies. Sun Life Financial Inc., the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. In the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and services to employers and their employees, including Group and Voluntary Life, Disability, Dental, Critical Illness, Accident, and Stop-Loss insurance products. Product offerings may not be available in all states and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.




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