Desert Sky - Articles

ANNOUNCER INTRO: As the struggle over national health care reform intensifies in Congress, a great deal of attention has focused on a variety of concerns, especially the public option. There is, however, one issue that has not been discussed during this heated debate: whether states should have the right to develop their own approaches to universal coverage.

Comments from Jane Blume of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, a coalition of 146 organizations:

JANE: The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign wants to see language included in the national legislation that gives states the flexibility to develop their own approaches to solving the problems of growing numbers of uninsured and rising health care costs.

Currently, the draft health care reform legislation in both houses of Congress only allows states to set up “insurance market exchanges.” These exchanges must offer consumers choices of different insurance products, including a public plan option – an option which may be dropped from the legislation altogether.

States have always been the laboratories for innovation. Women’s suffrage, civil rights, child labor and minimum wage laws were developed in the states first - and then became federal law. Why shouldn’t states be allowed to continue that role? If a state can develop an approach that differs from an insurance market exchange, an approach that still provides health coverage for its residents and contains rising health care costs, why shouldn’t it be allowed to do so?

In our state, the Health Security Act offers a different solution from the insurance market exchange. It is a “home-grown” solution that has earned enormous public support: 146 diverse organizations are part of our coalition, and 32 New Mexico counties and municipalities have passed endorsing resolutions.

The Health Security Act would enable our state to set up our own health care plan that automatically covers most New Mexicans with comprehensive benefits, and guarantees choice of doctor (even across state lines). Instead of creating a system of competing insurance plans, this proposal would shift the role of the insurance companies to provide supplementary coverage – like Medicare.

Two separate studies have concluded that if such a plan were established in New Mexico, health care costs would be reduced by hundreds of millions – if not billions – of dollars, within five years of beginning operation.

Why is this so? Because this approach simplifies a very complex private insurance system with its hundreds of policies, different benefits, co-pays and deductibles, all of which impact the administrative overhead of doctors, hospitals and clinics – and which, in turn, negatively affect health care costs.

Coalitions in other states have been working on proposals that do not depend on a private insurance paradigm. Acknowledging these developments, the National Conference of State Legislators recently passed a resolution, which included a request that states be allowed to create solutions that go beyond any federal requirements.

Aside from the need for state flexibility language in the national legislation, our Campaign believes that states developing their own health plans should also have the right to access the same federal dollars as states that choose to set up insurance market exchanges.

If we want New Mexico to establish its own health plan, instead of relying on our complex private insurance system, then our two U.S. Senators and three Congressmen must hear from us that we want state flexibility language included in federal health care reform legislation. And -- they need to hear from us now.

ANNOUNCER OUTRO: Jane Blume is the media-relations consultant to the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign. The Campaign’s website address is www.nmhealthsecurity.org.

Health Act Will Help New Mexico’s Small Businesses
By Vicki Pozzebon, Executive Director, Santa Fe Independent Business Alliance

This article was published in the March 8th online and print editions of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

In January of this year, the Board of the Santa Fe Independent Business Alliance voted unanimously to join a broad coalition (now numbering 143 diverse organizations statewide) that supports the Health Security Act (HSA) – which is now being considered in the legislature as SB 281.

The Santa Fe City Council and the Santa Fe County Commission are among 31 New Mexico counties and municipalities endorsing this legislation.

As an organization that speaks for small independent businesses, non-profits and their employees, the Santa Fe Alliance decided to support the Health Security Act because we believe it is the only solution that will fix our broken health care system.

Consider these grim facts: 400,000 New Mexicans – almost a quarter of our population - have no health insurance; a decreasing number of insured are paying ever-rising premiums to cover medical care for an increasing number of uninsured; and our member organizations cannot afford to pay for such badly needed coverage. There is a heavy social and economic burden on affected families, employers, health care providers, all cities and counties, and the state of New Mexico.

Affordable health insurance is also a critical employee recruitment and retention issue for our members. They cannot operate on a “level playing field” because it is difficult to compete for good employees with larger entities that can afford to purchase health insurance. Those who have less than five employees do not quality for group insurance plans.

Even when our members do attract good employees, they often lose them to organizations that do offer health insurance and other benefits. And it’s costly to replace these workers: $4,500 just to recruit a new part-time person working in Santa Fe.

The Health Security Act will benefit our members in many ways:

    1. Leveling the playing field for employers. HSA sets up a cooperative health plan that automatically covers most New Mexicans in one large risk pool with comprehensive services - regardless of their health, economic or employment status. This means that even part-time employees will have coverage. (The only populations not covered are active-duty and retired military and federal retirees. Tribes and organizations that self-insure under ERISA may elect to join the plan.)

    2. Affordable health coverage - at last. We know from a 2007 Richardson Administration-commissioned study of several comprehensive health coverage reform proposals, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, that the Health Security Act was the only plan that cost less than the current system -- and the only one that would save up to $200 million in its first year of operation alone.

    The new health plan will be financed by efficiently combining government monies spent on health care with individual and family premiums based upon income, and employer contributions (with caps).

    As small businesses, we are well aware that larger risk pools have lower per-capita premiums. With an estimated 1.6 million New Mexicans in one pool, we will see cost containment, lower prices for prescription drugs and medical supplies, less administrative complexity for our doctors, hospitals and clinics, and no more uncompensated care for the uninsured.

    Furthermore, any premiums and contributions will be offset to some extent with lower rates for Worker’s Compensation and private passenger and commercial vehicle insurance – because the Health Security plan would be responsible for paying for the injury.

    3. A healthier, more productive workforce. With everyone having health coverage, a comprehensive benefit package and no co-pays for preventive care (required under the legislation), our employees will be healthier and more productive in the long run, and we will see fewer days missed from work.

    4. Having our say. Businesses will be represented on the citizens’ commission that is responsible for the plan. Currently, small, independent businesses and non-profits have no negotiating clout with insurance companies. We have to pay the premiums they charge us, drop coverage, or choose not to have coverage at all.

    Now, our voices will be heard. The plan’s books will be subject to public scrutiny, and no plan changes can be made without public input.

    5. Freedom of Choice. The Health Security Act guarantees freedom of choice of doctor and hospital – even across state lines - and shifts the role of insurance companies to provide supplementary coverage – similar to what happened with Medicare. If anyone wants to purchase more coverage, they can.

    6. Money for other critical needs. Since the Health Security Act will save money and decrease the percentage of funds that cities, counties and the state spend on health care, it frees up badly needed financial resources for such vital needs as economic development, education, and the environment. Given our current state budget crisis, this is a benefit that has become even more important.

    7. Careful implementation/go-slow approach. The Health Security Act calls for a careful, three-year implementation process. In the first year after the legislation is passed, the Legislative Finance Committee, with public input, will determine the cost and financing of the health plan. The legislature and governor then must approve the financing package. In other words, the plan must prove to be affordable before the next phase can begin.

    In the second and third years, the plan will be developed (again with public input), with the ability to make adjustments, extend the time to proceed - or put on the brakes - should this phase prove not to be workable.

We believe that New Mexico is better off creating its own approach now to the health care crisis instead of waiting for an unspecified national solution that may take many years to become reality.

None of us can afford to wait any longer for the only plan that gets New Mexico’s rising health care costs under control and results in everyone having health coverage.

2009 is the year that we should – and must – invest in health security for New Mexico. We urge the legislature to pass the Health Security Act.

Don't Slaughter America's Wild Horses: Let Them Help Improve Land Instead
Jane Blume and Peter Holter

This commentary was published online at New West-Unfiltered on December 22, 2008.

We don't have to slaughter America's wild horses because their herds are supposedly too large; horses can actually help us improve lands that are suffering from drought.

During the recent media coverage of the wild horse-slaughtering controversy, at least one newspaper article (USA TODAY) quoted the Bureau of Land Management's Celia Boddington as saying that with current drought conditions, the BLM cannot allow the horse herds to grow unchecked because, "That would be an environmental disaster."

Actually, drought is a serious environmental problem right now in the West, and there is an alternative that the BLM may not have considered: grazing the horses under controlled conditions to help improve the land's resilience when drought strikes.

Over more than two decades, we at Holistic Management International have accumulated considerable evidence that managed grazing produces dramatic results on the land. When animals move around, their hooves work the soil and their urine and dung are quickly absorbed. When you increase the soil's organic matter, it gets fertilized, plants grow, and the soil becomes healthier and resilient in all types of weather - even during drought.

If the BLM were willing to invest some resources to let wild horses graze on the land under controlled conditions, we would discover that - in addition to a dramatic improvement in habitat health -

The horses and other wildlife could live solely on the plants that grow there. The BLM won't have to spend so much money ($21 million in 2007) feeding the horses, which means that we wouldn't have to slaughter them.
The plant roots will absorb carbon that might otherwise go into the atmosphere, which helps combat global warming.
The areas that are receiving less rainfall will be able to make better use of that rainfall.
And wildlife will be able to rely on replenished rivers, streams and ponds for their watering needs.

Wild horses can provide a real cost effective and productive solution to drought. I urge the BLM to consider using them.

Peter Holter is the Executive Director of Holistic Management International, www.holisticmanagement.org

"Our Defining Moment" on Climate Change: Pay Attention to Soil Health
By Peter Holter, Executive Director, Holistic Management International

This article was posted on NewWestonline.net in June of 2008.

Two prominent scientists are sounding the alarm that we are in a “defining moment” to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere to combat global warming. One was NASA climate scientist Jim Hansen and the other was Indian scientist and economist Rajendra Pachauri.

In a recent article in Science magazine, Hansen and several colleagues wrote, “…if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, CO2 must be reduced from its present 385 ppm (parts per million) to, at most, 350 ppm.”

And Pachauri has pointed out that "If there's no action before 2012, that's too late. What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment."

I couldn’t agree more.

It’s certainly a “defining moment” for people in sub-Saharan Africa, where soil loss and desertification have led to widespread hunger and malnutrition; and the population can no longer be sustained. And it’s certainly a defining moment for New Mexico’s Rio Puerco, which in the 1880s had grass as high as a horse’s belly. Today, it’s desert. There are numerous other examples that could be cited.

Holistic Management practitioners working on over 30 million acres worldwide have given a lot of thought to desertification, global warming and climate change; and we’ve realized that it’s critical to get people to understand (especially if they live in urban or suburban areas) that it is our soils --- the dirt --- that provide everything it takes for us to survive.

Without healthy soil, we can’t grow our food, nourish our livestock, conserve water and resist the effects of drought, erosion and climate change.

If we want to combat global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, then we need to make some important changes in how we manage land. We begin by restoring topsoil to health – with methods like no-till farming and organic farming. But then, we have to go deeper.

“Going deeper” means instituting measures that will help improve biodiversity, reverse desertification, and sequester carbon. The folks we work with utilize an approach with animals called “planned grazing,” which works today -- as it did for thousands of years with wild animals whose predators kept them on the move.

As the animals moved, their hooves worked the soil, which allowed for quick absorption of their urine and dung. The soil became and remained fertilized, and the land was healthy.

Over the past 24 years, HMI’s approach has been to plan the grazing, move the animals, and monitor them as well as the land –and the results have been very powerful. We have measured solid improvements in land health by the successful introduction of new seedlings, the extent of plant and biodiversity in the deep soil, water infiltration in the soil, and decreasing soil erosion.

The bottom line is, if livestock owners, public land agencies and the public can all work together to change how we manage the relationship between domestic grazing animals and the land, we will have a real opportunity to improve land health, reduce carbon emissions substantially, and help achieve NASA scientist Jim Hansen’s goal of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere from 385 parts per million to 350.

Holistic Management International (HMI) works with stewards of large land holdings on four continents to restore land to health, productivity and profitability. Telephone: 505-842-5252. www.holisticmanagement.org

Do You Own a Business? Own the Property, Too
By Kim Jew

This article was published in the May 22, 2008 edition of “Business Outlook” (Albuquerque Journal).

As a second-generation entrepreneur, I believe that it is important to own property.

I started learning these lessons watching my father, Harry Jew, who owned the New Chinatown Restaurant - but not the land it occupied. My dad made hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments on a loan he took out to tear down the old restaurant and build a new one… on the property taxes… and all the upkeep on the building. If he had owned the property, he would have built up hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity over New Chinatown’s forty-plus years of existence. Our family sold the business shortly after my father passed away.

My father’s life circumstances were very different from mine. He was an adopted child who immigrated to America, by himself, from China, at the age 15, with only $5 in his pocket. He felt very lucky to be here and to own a business. Owning the land was not important to him; but I saw all that equity being thrown away every month and decided that ownership was important to me.

Of course, ownership is not for everyone. But if you want to own property, here are some helpful hints:

Buy in the right area; your property will appreciate over time. My mother Jean, brother Stan and I bought a building on Girard for the first Kim Jew Photography studio in 1985. Our brother, Paul, who is based there, needs more space for his School Division and lab and is buying another building.

We have received a firm purchase offer; the property is located in a stable neighborhood and its value has increased considerably. Our biggest concern now is the capital gains taxes (a good problem).
Equity has advantages. If you own property, have equity in the property and need a loan, it will be much easier for you to get the money if your bank can use this equity as collateral.
Consider a private financial arrangement. The majority of small-business commercial transactions are not financed through banks because it is not that easy to borrow large sums of money – especially in today’s credit climate.

When I purchased property for our Eubank studio three years ago, the owner helped finance the transaction by carrying the real estate contract. This arrangement is advantageous to the seller, because by spreading out the payments, he avoids high capital gains taxes.
Consider an SBA-guaranteed loan. Because I needed working capital to make extensive renovations to the Eubank building, I sought and received an SBA-guaranteed loan from a bank specializing in such lending. I only had to pay 10% down on the property (normally, it’s 20%) and the interest rate was lower.
Leverage your relationships. I made the financial arrangements for the Eubank property fairly quickly because our CPA knew and trusted a mortgage broker, who in turn had a relationship with a bank that works closely with the SBA.

These associations helped me obtain a second SBA-guaranteed loan to purchase and renovate property in the heart of Corrales – which replaces the space I was leasing on Coors for our West Side studio.

Historically, land has appreciated in Albuquerque at an annual rate of 6-7%. While current economic conditions have flattened these figures, I have no doubt that, over time, property (in the right area) will continue to appreciate. So if you buy: remember that you can trade up if your business grows, and you will have something tangible to pass on to your children.

No Telephone Problem is Beyond Solution
By Clark Brooks

This article was published in the December 20, 2007 edition of “Business Outlook” (Albuquerque Journal).

Your phone rings and you answer it. What could be easier? For decades, the basis of telecommunication has been the same: effective, reliable communication between businesses and their customers. Lately, though, the telecom industry has been guilty of creating unnecessary issues by applying cutting-edge technology to any problem, regardless of the fit. However with proper planning, these costs and headaches can be avoided.

With the proliferation of high-speed data networks and their convergence with telephone systems, many of the solutions that used to be “Oh-My-Gosh-expensive” have become more cost effective. Many of these solutions can help your business increase its efficiency AND bottom line. Here are a few scenarios that are easily accomplished with today’s technology:

A small office with outside sales or service representatives has trouble getting calls to the right place - are the staff at their desk phones or their cell phones? Modern systems can ring both at the same time, and they can answer either phone without fooling around with Call Forwarding or dialing codes.
Your receptionist needs to answer all incoming calls but still be able to transfer calls among three widely dispersed branch offices. Using virtual private data channels, everything can be tied together to form a single virtual telephone system, with the equipment located at the main office. Each branch has access to any telephone on the system, and can even transfer individual voice mail messages to other users as if they were in the same physical location.
You are discussing a complex order with your customer, and you wish you had some way to record the conversation so it can be reviewed while the order is being written. Using the RECORD feature of voice mail, you can do just that. Play the message when needed and use REPLAY and BACKSPACE to make sure you have got it right. With some systems, you can even have the voice mail email the WAV file of the conversation to you so you will have an archived copy.
Due to explosive growth, you have had to lease space for your sales staff offsite. They need access to your data network and phone system more than ever, and you really don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of leasing a telephone line. With wireless point-to-point capability, offices up to 10 miles apart can be linked together, and the same link can be used for computers and telephones. Multiple locations can be linked with the main office, and you will have no monthly leased line charges from the phone company.
Even though the customer service group is only five agents, you need to track the number of calls they receive, customer hold time, abandoned calls, and how many calls went to voice mail. One of those big Call Center systems is just too expensive. Flexible software allows us to add Call Center features to phone systems of almost any size at a very affordable price.

Designing a communication system should be a collaborative project involving you (the user), your telecom vendor, and perhaps your IT manager. As details are gathered, several options usually emerge and are presented for your approval. Because widespread advances in modern technology have eliminated many of the barriers to resolving communications problems, today we are primarily limited only by our imagination and our ability to think outside the box while designing your system.

Your communication system provider shouldn’t force a pre-determined solution on you, but instead should ask you what problem you need solved and then offer several suitable solutions. Now, wouldn’t that be a lot more fun?

Clark Brooks is President of Brooks Communication, Inc. He can be reached at 505 888-2929, or at http://www.brookscommunication.com.

Holistic Healing
Using goats in wild lands and urban areas will add to the environment and reduce the risk of fire.
By Peter Holter, Executive Director, Holistic Management International

This guest column was published on the “Insight & Opinion” page of the Albuquerque Tribune on November 29, 2007.

The millions of dollars in damages from the recent California wildfires - including the Thanksgiving flare-up in Malibu - could have been reduced or even eliminated if goats had been used to diminish the risks.

We have accumulated this evidence after 23 years of working on four continents with stewards of large land holdings to heal damaged land, improve biodiversity and food production and reverse desertification, which yields a “triple bottom line” of sustainable environmental, economic, and social benefits. 30 million acres worldwide are currently under Holistic Management.

Holistic Management^® practitioners have used animals – especially goats – to mitigate the risk of fire damage, especially in areas where urban areas and wild lands meet. Goats reduce the natural “fuel ladder” – vegetation less than eight feet in height that allow wildfires to rush up the trees and into the canopies.”

Holistic Management^® practitioner and rancher Bill Burrows, who manages 40,000-acres in the western part of the Sacramento Valley near Red Bluff, California, has learned from practical experience that these animals are especially beneficial in California for three reasons:

First: It’s very difficult to have prescribed burns because of strict air pollution laws.
Second: Mechanical methods are very expensive and cannot be used on steep terrain.
Third: Chemicals are not acceptable to remove unwanted vegetation because we have no idea of their long-range effect.

Animals, the only tool we have left, provide at least six benefits beyond reducing unwanted biomass:

Their hoof action adds organic matter (their dung and urine) back into the soil.

The soil is enriched and prepared for planting grasses and other desirable plant species.

Healthy soil encourages root growth, which makes plants healthier.

Healthy plants sequester more carbon from the atmosphere and hold more moisture in the soil, promoting more biodiversity.

Live biomass is less susceptible to burning than dead fuel is.

Grazing animals are the cheapest removers of biomass around. Goats, for example, cost $18.44 per acre, or $144 per ton of biomass removed.

A 2004 Federal Emergency Management Administration report confirms that goats effectively decrease hazardous ladder fuels and are an attractive alternative to prescribed burns, because they do not produce slash piles that must be removed or burned later.

Of course, we can’t just throw the goats on the land and hope for the best. A grazing herd has to be managed so that the animals can systematically cover the vulnerable area.

As it happens, federal and state grants are available for individuals and municipalities to pay part of the expense of purchasing and using goats to clear flammable vegetation. I myself once received a grant to obtain 500 goats to cut a firebreak around a 239-home community in Northern California

While there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to the increasing risk of wildfire in the West, using animals to ameliorate the fire hazard costs significantly less than the millions spent on fire suppression, and actually improves the land so that it is less likely to suffer damage from future fires.

Holistic Management International is an Albuquerque-based non-profit organization that works internationally with stewards of large land holdings to restore their lands to health and profitability.

Governor’s Recent News Release on Health Care Reform Recommendations: Inaccurate Statements and Proposing to Bind Us to a Failing Private Insurance System
By Max Bartlett

This op-ed piece was published in the Saturday, August 25, 2007 edition of the Albuquerque Journal.

The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign has strong concerns about statements in the Richardson Administration’s August 9th news release, “Governor and Legislative Leadership Receive Universal Health Coverage Policy Recommendations.”

The sub-headline in this news release, “Reform is Less Costly than the Status Quo,” would lead us to believe that any of the reform models that Mathematica Policy Research studied would be less costly than the current system. However, that is not what the study concluded.

The findings were that only one reform model currently costs less than the current system, and that model is the Health Security Act.

The press release also quoted Lt. Gov. Diane Denish as saying, “In the long run, making no change in the current health care system would be more costly than moving forward with some type of reform.”

We regret to note that the Lt. Gov.’s statement is also inaccurate.

Mathematica found that even after five years of operation, only the Health Security Act costs less than the current system, and the other reform models still cost more than the current system. In fact, by 2011, the Health Security Act has estimated savings of $698 to $887 million and every New Mexico resident has coverage.

Mathematica found that the Health Security Act costs the least and saves the most money because it covers most New Mexicans under one cooperative plan with comprehensive benefits. This model also shifts the role of the insurance companies to provide supplementary insurance, just as they did under the original Medicare.

We have to ask:

Why are the Governor and Lt. Governor making inaccurate statements about the actual results of the Mathematica study? .

Why, after spending over $300,000 of taxpayers’ money on the Mathematica study, are Governor Richardson and his Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee (which is chaired by Lt. Gov. Denish) ignoring the unambiguous findings and the strong public support for the Health Security Act, which is endorsed by 128 organizations and 25 New Mexico counties and municipalities?

Why is Governor Richardson insisting that the private insurance system is broken only for the uninsured?

Why are the Governor and his Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee ignoring the evidence - that is piling up day after day - that the private health insurance system is completely broken?

The Governor has stated that he wants the private insurance industry to maintain its dominant role in health insurance coverage.

The policy recommendations that the Governor sent to the Committee, and which the Committee’s proposals mirror to a great extent (including establishing a so-called health insurance authority), will not solve the problem of rising health care costs or simplify an extraordinarily complex health insurance system, and are meant to bind us to this failing system for years to come.

Continuing to invest public dollars in the broken private insurance system makes absolutely no sense. With the clear results of the Mathematica study now before us, we believe that New Mexico has an opportunity to choose one of two very different paths.

We can continue to try to fix the failed private insurance system with ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer dollars, or we can go in a new direction. The Health Security Act, by establishing a cooperative health plan, enables New Mexicans – not the insurance companies - to develop a realistic, cost-effective and comprehensive solution to our health care crisis.

The path we take will have a serious impact on all New Mexicans. We are the ones who need to make that choice and communicate our views to the Governor and our legislators.

Max Bartlett is Vice Chair of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

Commentary: Grazing the grasslands could help the environment, economy
By Peter Holter, COO and CFO, Holistic Management International

This commentary was published in the August 21, 2007 print and online editions of the Albuquerque Tribune.

Recent news reports have told us that ethanol, now the “big player” in the alternative fuels arena, is using up corn that would otherwise be fed to cattle, dairy cows, swine, sheep and fowl. This means that the prices being paid for corn are rising rapidly, and these increases in turn drive up the costs of foods that we consume and of the livestock feeds that contain corn.

The news stories did not pose or answer questions about why livestock are consuming corn-based feed in the first place. The answer would be that our industrial livestock industry confines the animals to pens and barns; therefore, they have to consume manufactured food.

It wasn’t always this way.

In the 19th century, animals grazed and were sustained on the Great Plains, which were grasslands that covered almost 40% of North America. Only about 1% of the original ecosystem exists today because it has been converted to agriculture or is degraded and abandoned.

While the Great Plains did support millions of grazing animals and pack-hunting predators that fed on the grazers, the grasslands remained healthy because of the symbiotic and holistic relationship between the land and the animals.

The presence of predators kept the grazing animals on the move; and their hoof action worked the soil so that their manure was quickly absorbed. The soil’s organic matter was increased, thereby fertilizing it and keeping it healthy.

Would it be possible to return to a more “natural” way of raising livestock? Our organization, Holistic Management International, has accumulated abundant evidence - over 23 years of working internationally with farming and ranching families - that this is actually possible. Today, 30 million acres around the world (including the United States) are successfully cultivated using Holistic Management.

To change the paradigm of how we raise livestock, we would have to be willing to free up the acreage, grow the grass and restore the grasslands with the animals present, and manage their grazing in such a way that replicates the behavior of those wild grazers of yesteryear and permits enough time to elapse for the roots of the plants to rest and recover.

If we could bring animals back to the land in a holistically managed way - and restore the grasslands - then:

Vast amounts of carbon would end up in plant roots instead of in the atmosphere. This would have a positive effect on global warming.
We would increase the water resources of the land, in underground aquifers and in the prairie. regions (covered soil retains significantly more water than bare ground does).
The overall habitat for wildlife would be improved.
Outbreaks of pests and weeds would decrease, along with the attendant use of herbicides and pesticides.
We could reduce the amount of methane that is produced by livestock in confined feeding operations.
We could produce a high-quality, clean protein product for human consumption.
We could create another source of biofuels. Research conducted at the University of Minnesota and reported in the December 2006 issue of Science magazine, indicated that biofuels derived from grassland plants yield up to twice as much energy per unit of land as corn-based ethanol does. This exciting development could hold the key to the future of alternative energy production.

In the end, we would also improve our rural economies.

Holistic Management International is an Albuquerque-based non-profit organization that works internationally with stewards of large land holdings to restore their lands to health and profitability.

Letter to the Editor
By Jane Blume

This letter was published in the August 2, 2007 edition of the Albuquerque Journal’s “Business Outlook” section.

Winthrop Quigley’s July 19th article, “Year’s work on a big problem not entirely wasted,” which referenced the Mathematica cost study of different universal health care models, omitted one important fact:

Mathematica, which conducted the study for Governor Richardson’s appointed task force, found that of all the models, the Health Security Act is the only one that saves money and everyone is covered.

The Health Security Act is the only model that costs less than the current system - both in the first year of operation and by 2011 - with $698 to $887 million in estimated savings. These findings are consistent with numerous other studies around the country and one in New Mexico in 1994.

After spending over $300,000 of taxpayers’ money on the Mathematica study, the Governor and his task force are ignoring the results and the strong public support for the Health Security Act – endorsed by 128 organizations and 25 New Mexico counties and municipalities.

The public has lost confidence in the private health insurance system; and the Health Security Act shifts the role of insurance companies to a secondary one, similar to their role under Medicare. However, the Governor continues to support a solution in which the insurance companies maintain their current status.

Intending to focus on covering the uninsured, he will introduce a bill in the 2008 30-day legislative session that creates an insurance “authority” to pool existing public plans, and require everyone to purchase insurance or sign up for Medicaid if they are eligible – with no cost controls.

With the clear and unambiguous results of the Mathematica study now before us, New Mexico has an opportunity to choose one of two very different paths:

We can continue to patch up the failed private insurance system with piecemeal efforts and taxpayer dollars.

Or, we can pass the Health Security Act, which enables us - not the insurance companies - to develop a realistic, cost-effective and comprehensive solution to our health care crisis.

Which path will we follow? The choice will have a serious impact on all New Mexicans; therefore, we should communicate our views to the Governor and our legislators.

Jane Blume, owner of Desert Sky Communications, is the media consultant to the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

Health Security Act Proposes "Cooperative" Medical Plan
By Mary Feldblum, Executive Director, Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign

This article was published in the July 13-19, 2007 edition of New Mexico Business Weekly.

Would you continue investing in a product or service, year after year, that doesn’t deliver results? This is the situation we face with our health care system in New Mexico.

Premiums are rising… health insurance is increasingly unaffordable… employers, physicians, and the public are frustrated. 26% of New Mexico’s under-65 population is uninsured, despite years of trying to expand coverage.

We are at a crossroads: Do we continue investing public and private dollars in programs that subsidize a failed private insurance system? Or do we take a different path – one that shifts the role of private insurance, as Medicare did?

The New Mexico Health Security Act proposes a plan that changes the costly complex private insurance system, whose hundreds of policies negatively impact hospital and physician overhead. Instead, most New Mexicans would be in one simple, old-fashioned insurance pool – like a cooperative. This makes good economic sense because everyone who is covered shares the risk.

The plan guarantees freedom of choice of provider, even across state lines, and a comprehensive benefit package. As with Medicare, private insurers can offer supplemental insurance. Federal retirees and active-duty and retired military retain their health insurance. The tribes and entities that self-insure may choose to join once the plan becomes operational.

The Health Security Act is financed by combining existing taxpayer dollars already being spent on health care (e.g., Medicaid) with capped premiums from individuals and capped employer contributions. A three-year development period is required – with opportunities to call a halt if we find that the plan is unaffordable or unworkable before it is up and running.

Thousands of New Mexicans have had input into this homegrown plan. 128 organizations and 25 counties and cities have endorsed it.

The Health Security Act offers several advantages to businesses. Employers won’t spend time and money shopping around and evaluating different health plans. With guaranteed health coverage and a healthier work force, businesses will experience greater stability, lower employee absenteeism and higher productivity. Premiums will be reduced for workers compensation and auto insurance policies with large medical components.

Will placing most New Mexicans into one health risk pool stop the never-ending rise of health care costs? The answer, according to a recent study, is a definitive “yes.”

Last summer, Governor Richardson set up the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee to select several models to achieve universal health coverage, hire a consultant to perform a cost analysis, and make recommendations.

The Health Security Act was one of three models selected. The other two, Health Choices (creating a voucher-based purchasing alliance) and Health Coverage (the current system with expanded Medicaid programs), mandate that all New Mexicans - including employers -purchase private insurance.

On June 21, Mathematica, the consultant, released the final results of its $350,000 study, confirming findings by other state and national studies, including one in New Mexico in 1994: a model like the Health Security Act is the most cost-effective approach and provides everyone with comprehensive coverage.

According to Mathematica, the Health Security Act is the only model that costs less than the current system in the first year of operation. By 2011, it is still the only model that costs less than the current system, with $700 to $900 million in estimated savings.

Prior to the study’s release, the Governor stated that he did not like any of the models. On June 21, his health policy adviser issued a statement saying that he doesn’t think the private health insurance system is broken. He wants to focus only on the uninsured, and plans to introduce an “omnibus bill” in the 2008, 30-day legislative session to create a health insurance “authority” to pool existing public plans along with Medicaid and to require the uninsured to purchase private health insurance or (if they are eligible) to sign up for Medicaid.

Continuing on the current path when the private insurance system is failing does not make sense. Moreover, the Governor is ignoring the results of the $350,000 taxpayer-funded study; disregarding the strong public support for the Health Security Act; and planning to use taxpayer dollars to help the uninsured pay for private insurance – with no cost control provisions. Offering additional policies creates more small insurance pools and even higher costs for hospitals and physicians – already overburdened with administering our complex system.

Isn’t it time to pay attention to the results of so many studies, which reveal that the private insurance system will not solve our health care crisis? Patching up this failed system with piecemeal efforts and taxpayer dollars simply has not worked.

The road we need to take is clearly marked.

The Health Security Act - designed by New Mexicans for New Mexicans - is the only approach that provides a realistic, cost-effective, comprehensive solution to our health care crisis. Now that’s a real solid investment!

The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign is a statewide coalition of 128 organizations and hundreds of individuals and businesses that support the Health Security Act. For more information, call the Campaign at 505-897-1803.

Restore Grasslands and Bring the Animals Back
By Peter Holter, COO, Holistic Management International

This article was published in the May 3, 2007 edition of the Albuquerque Journal’s “Business Outlook” section.

University of Minnesota scientists recently reported research results in Science magazine, indicating that biofuels derived from grassland plants yield up to twice as much energy, per unit of land, as corn-based ethanol does. Are grasslands the key to the future of alternative energy production?

Although the University of Minnesota research results are indeed promising, producing significant amounts of biofuels from grassland plants, which would make a real difference for the environment and a positive impact on global warming, requires careful thought and a substantial investment. Only about one percent of the original grasslands ecosystem remains because it has been converted to agriculture, or is degraded and abandoned.

A little history might be helpful: In the 19th century, grassland covered almost 40% of North America and sustained millions of grazing bison, pronghorns and elk - and the predators that fed on them. The original grasslands were healthy because of the symbiotic and holistic relationship between the land and the animals. The presence of predators kept the grazing animals on the move; and their hoof action worked the soil so that their manure was quickly absorbed. These actions increased the soil's organic matter, thereby fertilizing it and making it healthier.

Therefore, if we want to restore the grasslands to health, we simply can't plant grass seeds and harvest them. The processes that would be required to grow these grasses would eventually result in the same consumptive, mechanical and chemical-laden approach now used to produce corn for ethanol.

Instead, we would have to be willing to free up the vast amount of acreage we will need; grow the grass with the animals present; manage animal grazing in such a way that it replicates the behavior of those wild grazers of yesteryear; leave sufficient forage for the animals after harvesting a certain percentage of the grasses for energy production, and permit enough time to elapse for the roots of the plants in the harvested and grazed areas to rest and recover.

It sounds like a tall order, but our organization, Holistic Management International, has accumulated abundant evidence - over 23 years of working internationally with farming and ranching families - that this is actually possible. Today, one million acres in the United States are successfully cultivated using Holistic Management.

If we could bring the animals back to the land and restore the grasslands, the results could be significant:

Vast amounts of carbon would end up in plant roots instead of in the atmosphere.

The water resources of the land, in underground aquifers and in those prairie regions would be increased - because covered soil retains significantly more water than bare ground does.

The overall habitat for wildlife would be improved.

Outbreaks of pests and weeds would decrease, along with the attendant use of herbicides and pesticides.

We could reduce the amount of methane that is produced by livestock in confined feeding operations.

We could produce a high-quality, clean protein product for human consumption.

And in the end, we would also improve our rural economies.

Holistic Management International is an Albuquerque-based non-profit that works both nationally and internationally with stewards of large land holdings to restore their lands to health and profitability.

New Mexico Health Security Act
By Jane Blume

This article was published in the January 2007 issue of La Montanita Co-op’s newsletter, Co-op Connection.

How many of you have health insurance, and find that it is increasingly unaffordable for you or your employer? How many of you are facing cuts in your health benefits, increases in co-payments and premiums, and restrictions in your choice of doctor? How many of you can't even afford insurance? How many others are in the same boat?

Clearly, the private insurance insurance system has failed. Congress is not facing up to the health insurance crisis, and the states are now taking action on their own.

Isn't it time for New Mexico to set up its own health plan cooperative, which would cover most state residents with a comprehensive benefit package and freedom of choice of doctor? The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign is working to make this idea a reality.

The Campaign is a large and continuously growing statewide coalition of 127 member organizations, representing thousands of individuals, that has been working since 1993 for significant and comprehensive health insurance reform in New Mexico. The New Mexico Health Security Plan is a proposal developed by New Mexicans and for New Mexicans, with input from thousands of people from all walks of life throughout the state.

The Health Security Plan guarantees:

Health care coverage - no matter what your health, economic or employment status is
Choice of doctor and hospital - even across state lines
A comprehensive benefit package that is no less than the one that state employees receive (which includes acupuncture and chiropractic treatments)
Preservation of the private health care delivery system (physicians, hospitals, etc.)
Strong protections for retirees
Reductions in premiums for automobile and Worker's Compensation insurance, policies that have a large medical component, most of which would be covered under the Plan

An estimated 1.6 million New Mexicans would be in one large insurance pool, which becomes a strong buying cooperative that reduces the costs of prescription drugs and medical supplies. The tribes, who are sovereign nations, and large companies that self-insure, could elect to join the Plan. The only groups not covered are federal retirees and active-duty and retired military, who continue with their own insurance.

The Health Security Plan is financed by efficiently combining monies from public sources (i.e., Medicaid and Medicare) with individual premiums (based upon income) and employer contributions (with caps) into a dedicated fund. Private insurance companies can sell supplementary policies, just as they do now under Medicare.

A geographically representative, non-governmental, publicly accountable citizens' commission administers the Plan. Ten commissioners represent consumer and business interests and five represent health care providers. Commission meetings and records are open to the public.

The Health Security Act, which creates the Health Security Plan, sets up a three-year process to develop the financing and details with input from the public. If at any point the Plan proves to be unworkable, we can apply the brakes. Nothing in the current system changes until the legislature, the governor and the public deem it ready to begin operations.

Studies conducted in New Mexico and numerous other states have concluded that having all or most state residents into one health insurance risk pool will stabilize health costs and save billions of dollars.

New Mexico's health care crisis continues to worsen as premiums continue to rise. Piecemeal solutions that support the current private insurance system simply haven't worked. Now is the time to pass the Health Security Act. Legislation will be introduced this month during the 2007 60-day legislative session. We know that the bill will face strong opposition from the insurance industry. However, grassroots support from around the state for this plan is growing fast and can really make a difference.

In less than four years our coalition has grown from 28 to 127 member organizations, including two county medical societies and farmer and rancher groups. Already, ten New Mexico city councils and county commissions have unanimously endorsed the Health Security Act - and more are on the way.

We CAN make this plan a reality, but we need you, the Co-op Connection readers, plus your friends, families and co-workers, to help us. If you agree that we should stop investing taxpayer dollars in a failed private insurance system and instead should choose a different path, then we urge you and everyone you know to contact Governor Richardson and your state legislators and ask them to support and pass the New Mexico Health Security Act.

New Mexicans cannot afford to wait any longer for real health care reform. If you want more information about the Plan and how to help us, please contact us TODAY at 897-1803.

Jane Blume, owner of Desert Sky Communications, is the media consultant to the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

N.M. Health Plan Has Statewide Support
By Eleanor Chavez and Max Bartlett

This piece was published in the November 18, 2006 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

On Thursday, October 19, the overwhelming majority of Governor Richardson’s Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee, his third task force on health insurance reform, selected the New Mexico Health Security Plan - advocated by the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign - as their Number One model for a financial study that will analyze three different insurance reform models and how they impact rising health care costs.

Published reports have described the Health Security Plan inaccurately, and we are taking this opportunity to educate the public about the details.

Why is there such strong support on the Committee to study this plan? It is because the Committee members understand what 123 member organizations (plus hundreds of individuals, business owners and physicians) of the statewide Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign coalition understand:

That this is a well thought-out cooperative plan, developed over more than a decade of consulting with thousands of New Mexicans around the state from all walks of life. The Health Security Plan is designed by New Mexicans for New Mexicans, and is not based upon any known model.
That the Health Security Plan guarantees health coverage for 1.6 million New Mexicans, regardless of employment, economic or health status. (The only populations not covered are federal retirees and active-duty and retired military. The tribes and employers that are self-insured under ERISA can elect to join the Plan.)
That the Health Security Plan guarantees choice of doctor (even across state lines), a generous benefit package that can be no less than the one that state employees have, and protections for retirees.
That the Plan will be financed with a dedicated fund, which efficiently combines monies from government sources (i.e., Medicaid and Medicare) with individual premiums based upon income and employer contributions based upon payroll (with caps).
That an independent, geographically representative and publicly accountable Commission will administer the Plan. Of 15 commissioners, 10 represent consumer and business interests and 5 represent the provider community. Hospitals, clinics, HMOs, private practice physicians, pharmacists, and other providers negotiate their budgets and fees with the Commission.
That our large insurance pool will allow for bulk purchasing of drugs and medical equipment and supplies.
That because 1.6 million New Mexicans will be in one insurance pool – instead of the numerous small insurance pools we have today - we will spread out the risk, reduce administrative overhead for health care providers and hospitals, and be able to exert stronger control over cost increases.
That premiums for automobile, van, truck and worker’s comp insurance will be reduced because their medical components will no longer be needed.
That if the bill creating the Health Plan is approved by the Legislature, there will be a go-slow, three-year implementation period to ensure that we do this right. Year One is called “The Year of Financing,” during which the Legislative Finance Committee, with public input, will determine the cost of the Plan, the premiums and employer contributions and insurance premium reductions. At the end of the year, the Legislature and the Governor must approve the financing package – otherwise, the Plan will not go into effect. During Years Two to Three, details of how the Plan will operate are developed with legislative, executive and public input. We will have the ability to extend the time to proceed or to put on the brakes should this phase not prove to be workable.

A member of the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee, Dr. Craig Keyes of United Health Care, stated recently that the New Mexico Health Security Plan is “the only model” of the three selected for the financial study “that will control costs.” It is also the only model that does not seek to continue to invest public dollars in a failed private insurance system.

The Plan has attracted attention from health reform advocates nationwide, and was the inspiration for a similar bill introduced this year into the Arizona legislature. We welcome invitations to present the details of the Plan to interested groups, who may contact us at 505-897-1803.

Eleanor Chavez and Max Bartlett are the Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

The New Mexico Health Security Plan: A Co-op Model for Our State
By Jane Blume

This article was published in the October 2006 issue of La Montanita Co-op’s newsletter, Co-op Connection.

As La Montanita Co-op members surely know, a cooperative is a group of persons who join together to carry on a mutually beneficial economic activity.

The question is: it is possible to bring this cooperative spirit into our broken health care system and reform insurance coverage so that everyone benefits? The answer from the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign is a resounding “yes.”

The Campaign is a large and growing statewide coalition of 122 member-organizations (plus hundreds of business owners, individuals and physicians) that has been working since 1993 for significant and comprehensive health insurance reform in New Mexico.

At present, the cooperative spirit in health insurance really does not exist. Insurance companies by and large are concerned with ensuring profits and covering the healthiest individuals among us.

Approximately 46.5 million people nationwide - including an estimated 400,000 in New Mexico – are without coverage. A decreasing number of insured are paying rising premiums for an increasing number of uninsured. Those with coverage are segmented into hundreds of small insurance pools, which create higher risks and a complex administrative system that result in higher costs.

Studies in several states, including New Mexico, have shown that if all or most residents were covered under one insurance pool, billions of dollars would be saved over time. Early on, the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign realized that real, comprehensive reform would require us to create a health plan that would bring back the cooperative spirit of old-fashioned insurance, where we would all be in it together sharing the risks – the old, the young, the healthy and the not-so-healthy.

The New Mexico Health Security Plan is a proposal developed by New Mexicans for New Mexicans, with input from people from all over the state. The Plan guarantees:

Health care coverage - no matter what your health, economic or employment status is
Choice of doctor – even across state lines
A comprehensive benefit package that is no less than the one that state employees receive (which includes acupuncture and chiropractic treatments)
Preservation of the private health care delivery system (physicians, hospitals, etc.)
Strong protections for retirees
Premiums based in income
Reductions in premiums for automobile and Worker’s Compensation insurance – because these policies have a large medical component, most of which would be covered under the Plan.

An estimated 1.6 million New Mexicans would be in one large insurance pool, which becomes a strong buying cooperative for prescription drugs and medical supplies. The tribes, which are sovereign nations, and large companies that self-insure could elect to join the Plan. The only groups not covered are federal retirees and active-duty and retired military, who continue with their own plans.

The Plan is financed by combining monies from public sources (i.e., Medicaid and Medicare) with individual premiums (based upon income) and employer contributions (with caps). Private insurance companies can sell supplementary policies, just as they do now under Medicare.

A geographically representative, non-governmental, publicly accountable citizens’ commission administers the Plan. Ten commissioners represent consumer and business interests and five represent the health care provider community. Like a coop, commission meetings and records are open to the public.

As you read this, you may be asking yourself: this cooperative Plan sounds like a winner. Why isn’t it in place already? The answer is: the New Mexico legislature must pass a law to create this Plan, and the legislation has faced strong opposition from the insurance industry.

However, grassroots support for this idea is growing and can make a difference. In less than four years our coalition has grown from 28 to 122 member organizations, including two county medical societies and farmer and rancher groups. To make this plan a reality, we need you, the Co-op newsletter readers, plus your friends, families and co-workers to help us.

Until now, the Richardson Administration has embraced piecemeal solutions, some of which use taxpayer dollars to subsidize purchasing private insurance. Unfortunately, these piecemeal efforts haven’t made a significant dent in the number of uninsured or succeeded in controlling ever-rising premium increases.

The Governor recently appointed his third task force to come up with possible solutions. New Mexico is now at a crossroads. We can either continue to invest public dollars in the failed private insurance system or choose a different path.

The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign believes that a homegrown plan that meets New Mexico’s needs is the right road to take. If you want more information or would like to help us, please contact us at 505-897-1803 or .

Jane Blume, owner of Desert Sky Communications, is the media consultant to the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

Print Media Reinforces Our Reputation
By David H. Kelsey, Managing Partner, Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A., Albuquerque, New Mexico

“Print Media Reinforces Our Reputation” by David H. Kelsey, published in Family Advocate, Volume 29, No. 2, Fall 2006. © 2006 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

In 1973, Atkinson & Kelsey was the first law firm in New Mexico to specialize in divorce and family law.

We made that decision at a time when divorce lawyers were not generally held in high regard by the legal profession - or by our society as a whole. Attorneys in our firm have helped change the perception of divorce and family law - at both the state and national level - to a respected, recognized specialty.

Therefore, our long-term marketing strategy (of which our advertising is an integral part) has been to convey a consistent message that our firm is a leader in the field, with attorneys who have made substantive contributions to both the family law specialty and to the legal profession, and who also provide top-quality and effective representation for our clients.

Our advertising is designed both to enhance our image as a leader in our profession and to generate new clients and referrals from our target audiences: the general public, former clients, other attorneys in New Mexico, divorce and family law attorneys around the country, and other professionals such as CPAs and mental health counselors. Therefore, our advertising decisions are based upon two considerations:

We will have an opportunity to present the firm as a whole.

The advertising vehicle reaches one or more of our target audiences.

We consistently dedicate 2-3% of our annual revenues to our marketing efforts, and 50% of the marketing budget is spent on advertising. We schedule a marketing meeting once a month, where we review our planned activities and make adjustments as the circumstances warrant (and they often do).

Our marketing committee evaluates all the advertising proposals and selects which outlet we think meets our basic criteria. As Managing Partner, I spend about 5% of my time generating the marketing ideas, and an outside agency executes them. Our firm administrator spends seven hours a week coordinating the marketing strategy and the advertising contracts, and serving as liaison to the creative agency.

Although we view the print media as the best vehicle to communicate our messages to our target audiences, the Internet is fast becoming a very important resource for us, as well.

Advertising: General Public
To reach the general public statewide, we buy advertising in two major print outlets, the Yellow Pages and the Albuquerque Journal, the state's leading newspaper. Because most of the state's population lives in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor, we have built a major presence in those area Yellow Pages with full-page color ads on the back covers.

We also take out smaller ads in the Yellow Pages that serve another area of notable population density: around the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces. In addition, we do not neglect the regular Albuquerque white pages: our smaller rectangular ads stand out with black type on a yellow background or white type on a blue background.

The Yellow Pages have become one of the most important sources of new clients for us. 22% of new clients in the month of May cited those directories as the reason they called us. For the year to date, 17% of new clients found us this way.

As for the Albuquerque Journal, we advertise 26 times a year (twice a month) in its Monday "Business Outlook" section, because research has indicated that - after the sports section - "Business Outlook" has the highest readership, not only among business owners and managers but also among support staff and independent professionals. We use these ads to call attention to the accomplishments of our individual attorneys, while at the same time always promoting the entire firm.

While only 2% of new clients in May cited the Journal as the outlet that triggered their call (1% for the year to date), we believe that our newspaper advertising (along with other marketing activities) helps to keep our name "top of mind" among our sources of referrals. In May of this year, 26% of new clients came to us on referral (the year-to-date figure is 17%).

Our Website
Recognizing that people are using the Internet with increasing frequency to do research about their needs and interests, we decided that we needed to become more visible there to attract higher numbers of out-of-state clients who have connections to and family law issues in New Mexico. This past spring, we changed our Web hosting service from a local provider to a national company that offers an online directory of law firms and helps these firms to enhance and promote their websites.

We increased our visibility on the Web by purchasing a "top five" position on the directory's divorce and family law page for Albuquerque, and we are among the top eleven firms listed on the New Mexico page. With the company's assistance, we also added a special section to our site from which visitors can send us questions about their issues without charge - and we assigned one of our attorneys to answer the questions with a quick turn-around.

As an indicator of how important the Internet has become in attracting new clients: in our first month with the national provider, our website received 530 hits. In May of this year, 23% of our new clients came to us through the Internet, while the figure for the year to date is 15%.

Advertising: Legal Profession
We advertise to the legal profession in New Mexico by placing ads on a quarterly basis on the back cover of The Bar Bulletinin, which is published weekly by the New Mexico State Bar and is sent to every attorney in the state. To reach the national audience of divorce and family lawyers, we advertise on the back cover of The Family Advocate once a year.

To present a consistent image and message about our firm, our print ads contain several unchanging elements: our logo, a word of congratulations, the name and photo of the attorney receiving the congratulations, the specific accomplishment for which we are congratulating him or her, our telephone number, and our tag line, "New Mexico's First and Most Experienced Divorce and Family Law Firm."

We believe that the tag line words make reference to what is basically true about us: that we've been in practice for a long time and are very skilled at what we do. This is the most critical point about our advertising and marketing as a whole: our efforts have paid off over time because they have communicated a truthful message to the audiences who are most important to our success.

David H. Kelsey Profile
David H. Kelsey has been referred to as "the dean of family law attorneys" in New Mexico for his training and mentoring of many of the state's premier divorce and family law specialists. The first family law attorney to serve as the president of the New Mexico State Bar, he is also the only family law attorney to be listed under the New Mexico section of every edition of Best Lawyers in America. He is a charter member of the American College of Family Law Trial Lawyers and the only New Mexico attorney in the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

The Health Security Plan: Proposal for Affordable Health Care
By Mick Harper, Owner, Blue Sky Woodworks

This article was published in the October edition of the New Mexico Business Journal.

Would your customers accept a 51% increase in your prices over a three-year period while the quality of your goods or services declined? Most of us would not stay in business very long if we allowed that to occur. However, that is exactly what has happened with my company's health insurance coverage.

Over a three-year period, starting with our 2004 policy renewal, our health insurance premiums rose 51%. In return, we received slightly reduced benefits, shorter primary care hours (requiring more visits to urgent care), and higher employee co-pays. The beneficiaries of the large premiums I pay are a handful of health-system executives (and their company's shareholders) in Tennessee.

In 2003, my monthly cost for a single male worker's premium was $147. I now pay $230 per person monthly. This is a sizeable portion of my payroll, given the fact that I have nine full-time employees. Why would my insurance company raise my premiums - on a generally young, healthy employee group - by 51% in three years?

One reason is that my company and my employees are the targets of cost shifting, where a decreasing number of insured are paying for the medical care of a growing number of uninsured. In New Mexico, 21% are uninsured, often using expensive emergency rooms when they have a crisis. (We're also paying for this care through our taxes.) An estimated 75% of the uninsured are working, but they and their employers cannot afford to pay the premiums.

A second reason is that small businesses like mine are generally placed in small insurance pools that have higher risks - so we pay higher premiums per capita than large employers do. If one person in my shop gets sick, my premiums will go up even more.

These massive cost increases are fast becoming unaffordable to me and many other business owners. I am currently faced with a critical dilemma: if I ask my employees to cover a larger share of the premium, most will choose not to (this actually happened several years ago) - making my insurance pool even smaller and disqualifying me from group plans.

Other options, such as signing up for state programs like the Health Insurance Alliance, are not working for my business because my employee wage rates are too high. It is my understanding that few employers are signing up for these programs.

Clearly, the private medical insurance system has failed. The current efforts to expand coverage in New Mexico continue to invest in a failed system by using taxpayer dollars to help the uninsured buy private health insurance - with no cost control provisions. Offering more policies on the market results in additional small insurance pools and higher costs for hospitals and physicians - who are burdened with administering our complex system.

Health economists predict that costs will continue to increase. Obviously, something new and different must be done.

Several years ago, I found out about a very appealing proposal - one that would allow us to set up our own health plan in New Mexico - very much like a cooperative. The Health Security Plan has been under development for more than a decade. Most New Mexicans would be covered under the Plan; so the cost and risks would be spread among a very large insurance pool - 1.5 million people. To me, the advantages of such economies of scale are self-evident.

The Plan guarantees health coverage no matter what a person's health or economic status is, choice of doctor (even across state lines) and a generous benefit package. 1.5 million customers in a large buying pool will have negotiating clout, resulting in reduced costs for prescriptions and medical supplies.

Employers will benefit because with guaranteed health coverage, we'll experience lower employee absenteeism and higher productivity.

We will benefit even further because our premiums will be reduced for other insurance policies that have a medical component, such as auto, van and truck insurance and Worker's Compensation.

An independent, non-governmental, geographically representative commission would administer the Health Security Plan. To finance coverage and reimburse health care providers, the Act that establishes the Plan creates a dedicated fund, combining monies from government sources (e.g., Medicaid) with individual premiums based on income and employer contributions - with caps.

There would be a three-year feasibility period, giving us time to determine whether the Plan is affordable and whether we can put it together carefully and successfully. This unusual approach allows us to put on the brakes if this seems to be unworkable.

I urge you to learn more about this Plan. Feel free to contact me at 505-897-0594, or call the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign directly, 505-897-1803.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Still At the Top of the Charts
By Mary Lou Dobbs, President, Executive Benefit Strategies, Inc.

This article was published in the August 10, 2006 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensations Plans have existed for over 50 years. They were developed to allow corporations to select a group of key employees and carve out additional benefits to encourage loyalty, retention and high performance. Loyalty and retention are key, due to the high cost of replacing and training talented executives.

Another consideration was the reverse discrimination against the highly compensated employee in the qualified plans. Due to the limits on contributions for qualified plans and Social Security benefits, individuals earning high incomes find that a diminishing percentage of their current compensation can be replaced at retirement through these two sources. Here is an example: someone making $50,000, who contributes 10% or $5,000 into a 401 (k), at the age of 65 may receive $14,780 a year plus $16,644 from Social Security, which totals $31,424, or 62.8% of total income.

On the other hand, someone earning $150,000 ends up with 44.8% of total earnings, and someone earning $250,000 ends up with only 26.9% of total compensation provided by retirement benefits.

Given this reverse discrimination, non-qualified plans have become so popular because they defer income on a pre-tax basis at amounts in excess of the qualified plan limits.

In their earliest and simplest forms, these plans generally involved an advance agreement between an employer and an employee that an amount to be earned in a given year would be paid to the employee in a subsequent year, generally upon retirement or termination of employment. The plan was informally funded by a combination of corporate assets or a combination of employer matching of employee deferrals (called 401k mirror plans).

If the agreement were structured properly in accordance with all Tax Code requirements, the employee would not pay tax on the deferred amount until he received it.

A survey titled, “Executive Benefits-A Survey of Current Trends, 2005 Results,” published in Los Angeles, concluded that, “the popularity of nonqualified deferred compensation plans continues because there is a sustained demand for low-cost corporate plans with the power to recruit, retain and reward a select group of managers or highly compensated employees.“

“Also, deferred compensation plans offer greater flexibility of design as compared to 401 (k) plans.” According to the survey, 91% of respondent companies offer a non-qualified deferred compensation plan.

Executives who benefit most from the plans are at the top of the corporate pyramid: presidents and CEOs (89% of whom reported being eligible for such plans in the 2005 survey), followed by executive and senior vice presidents (87%), vice presidents (74%) and division or unit managers (33%).

54% of survey respondents said that their nonqualified plan contains six criteria for distributions: separation from service, death, disability, specified time, change in control, and hardship clause.

The survey noted also that 73% of non-qualified plans are informally funded, whereas only 24% of these plans remain unfunded.

In the past, many companies and professional practices (such as CPA and law firms) created a sinking fund, or became obligated to pay an obligation to future generations. The future generation then became obligated to fund and pay out large amounts from current profits. This financial burden has strapped or ruined many firms.

On the executive side, the question is: What happens if the business I work for doesn’t make it, and the assets set aside to fund a portion of my retirement are attached by creditors? This concern created the “Rabbi Trust,” which protects participants against adverse decisions that plan sponsors may make.

Since then, many other kinds of plans have surfaced, such as Controlled Executive Bonus, 412 I plans and Section 79 group plans. They allow the corporate owner to carve out key employees, level the playing field, and address the reverse discrimination.

Mary Lou Dobbs is the president of Executive Benefit Strategies, Inc., which provides succession planning, living buyout and non-qualified executive compensation services to business owners and other professionals. She may be reached at 505-688-6703. Dobbs has more than three decades of executive experience in insurance, business exit strategies, and sales training, most recently as Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Insurance. She is the author of the book, “The Cinderella Salesman,” and has published articles on business succession and non-qualified executive compensation planning in Southwest Airlines’ Spirit magazine and in industry publications.

Retirement: Annuities Quiet the Fear of Outliving Your Income
By Mary Lou Dobbs, President, Executive Benefit Strategies, Inc.

This article was published in the June 1, 2006 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

A major concern for both retired people, and baby boomers on the edge of retirement, is: will I last longer than my money does? The number of seniors - including the baby boomer pool - will climb to 78 million by 2030. 80% of baby boomers currently have only $125,000 in total assets due to inflation, taxation, poor investment decisions, or no investment strategies at all.

Worries about retirement security keep people awake at night. Do you worry about outliving your assets… inflation eroding your purchasing power… income taxes that reduce your investment profits… predators (total strangers or a family member) who look for vulnerable assets… putting your nest egg at risk to achieve greater return on your investments? In addition to these concerns, we also know that companies are beginning to abandon their pension plans, and you can't expect to make substantive gains on your investments in a low-interest marketplace.

How can you overcome these fears and achieve peace of mind? There is a bright spot in the "safe money" arena: annuities.

Purchased from insurance companies, annuities offer safety and guaranteed rates of return in bad times, provide opportunities for growth in good times, and promote independence and peace of mind. Parents use annuities in estate planning to make sure that an adult child who has no ability to control his or her spending will have an income for life. Annuities also shelter assets from financial predators and avoid probate.

An annuity is similar to a Certificate of Deposit (CD) guaranteed by the FDIC - in that the insurance company that issues the annuities also guarantees them. (The financial strength of insurance companies often far exceeds that of financial institutions.) Annuities have many positive features, including tax-deferred interest income accumulation, and best of all, they are the only investment vehicles that can provide a guaranteed lifetime income that an individual or couple can never outlive.

The recent introduction of Equity-Indexed Annuities (EIAs) has been taking the savings/investment marketplace by storm. EIAs allow you to participate in stock market-like returns without incurring any risk to your principal or earned interest. A simplistic way to think about Equity-Indexed Annuities would be to imagine going to Las Vegas and playing your favorite game of chance, knowing that the absolutely worst thing that could happen is that you'll go home with the same amount of money that you came with. And, if you are a winner, the casino will share the winnings with you.

EIAs allow individual investors to trade all of the risk for some of the gain. You won't receive 100 per cent of your winnings, but you are guaranteed not to lose any of the principal or earned interest. EIAs allow individual investors to chase potentially higher stock market-like returns without putting the principal at risk.

We insure our cars… we insure our homes… we insure our lives. Why not insure that we won't outlive our incomes? The basic saving/investment rule for seniors, or anyone saving for retirement, should be: Never lose principal or interest! It might take you 50, 60, or 70 years to accumulate whatever nest egg you have. You do not have the time or the ability to replace lost funds. The mantra should be: Safe Money.

Redirecting a portion of your assets to an indexed annuity will help overcome outliving your assets, inflation, taxes, predators, and risky or low-interest investments, and will give you the potential for faster growth while keeping your money safe.

Mary Lou Dobbs, president of Executive Benefit Strategies Inc. in Albuquerque, has over 30 years of experience in insurance and related products. You can reach her at 505-688-6703 or www.mldobbs.com.

Seminal Booklets on 13 Pioneer New Mexico Jewish Families Released
By Jane Blume and Lisa Witt

Adapted from an article that was published in the March 2006 issue of the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society's newsletter.

On Sunday, March 5, 2006, the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society (NMJHS) celebrated and presented the results of an unprecedented four-year study of the untold role of Jewish Pioneers in the development of the multi-ethnic State of New Mexico from 1850 to 1920. Thirteen booklets that relate the stories of these pioneer families were unveiled and are currently available for purchase.

This groundbreaking work, a joint effort of the NMJHS and the University of New Mexico History Department and Center for Regional Studies, began in 2002 with 11 dedicated volunteers assigned to research thirteen New Mexico pioneer families.

"I am thrilled to see the completion of this lengthy study," said Project Director Lisa Witt, owner of Avista Video Histories. "Since I have a personal and professional interest in helping people preserve their family stories, it was so gratifying and fascinating to uncover information about people who played such an enormous part in the history of New Mexico. These are stories most people don't know about, even people in the Jewish community."

Accompanied by professional videographers from Avista Video Histories, project volunteers interviewed about two-dozen second and third generation members of the Seligman, Ilfeld-Nordhaus, Herzstein, Goldsmith, Ravel, Taichert, Spiegelberg, Wertheim (both Carlsbad and Ft. Sumner), Freudenthal-Lesinsky-Solomon, Gusdorf, Danoff, and Moise families.

The Jewish Pioneer families were selected based upon specific criteria: they arrived in New Mexico in the middle part of the 19^th century through World War I; they made significant economic, political or other contributions to the state; their descendants still reside in New Mexico; and they were willing to make a representative available to serve as a liaison to the project team.

Before starting their assignments, the volunteers received about 20 (instead of 40) hours of training over an 8 (not 10)-week period from UNM Professors Noel Pugach and Durwood Ball, Jewish Pioneer scholar Henry J. Tobias, Rose Diaz, Program Manager, UNM Libraries, Political Archives and Lisa Witt. The subjects covered in the training included New Mexico, American Jewish and New Mexico Jewish history, and methods of doing historical research and conducting interviews. Archivist Judy Basen Weinreb developed the initial concept and grant proposals and guided the archival part of the project.

The taped interviews, transcripts, digitized photographs, booklets and booklet templates will be made available to researchers at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (NMJHS Collection) and at the UNM Center for Southwest Research. Booklet sets will also be distributed to other libraries, museums and archives having an interest in the Jewish Pioneer topic throughout New Mexico and nationally.

"We expect this body of work will be of interest to many students of American Jewish History," said Professor Pugach.

It was generally known that Jewish settlers, primarily (but not exclusively) from Germany, were an integral part of life in 19^th-century New Mexico, as merchants, bankers, miners, ranchers, soldiers and politicians. However, our study of the Pioneer Families has yielded many significant findings. We learned that the geographical reach of Jewish settlement and economic activity was greater and broader than earlier studies have indicated. Jewish pioneers settled all over New Mexico, from Taos to Carlsbad. Some of the places where they lived are truly obscure, and in some cases they are no longer inhabited. For example, the Wertheims of Ft. Sumner catered to the needs of miners in Porter. Nathan Weil created a little empire in Ocate, and the Vorenbergs established themselves in Wagon Mound.

During the territorial period of New Mexico following the U.S. conquest, Jewish merchants were critical players in the nascent New Mexico economy, particularly in rural communities, and their influence carried well into the twentieth century. The operation of their shops and stores almost single-handedly kept some small towns and isolated hamlets on the map. The merchants also learned Spanish and various Indian languages so that they could communicate effectively with their customers.

The Jewish merchants were also innovative and daring in their mercantile enterprises. Several of them made the transition from retailing to wholesaling, often combining the two; some also added freighting to their enterprises. In Clayton, Simon Herzstein recognized that World War I was hastening the acceptance of manufactured clothing. Consequently, he opened Herzstein's Ready to Wear, which carried such name brands as Stetson, Justin and Levi Strauss. Other merchants diversified into cattle ranching, sheep raising and the hide trade.

In the process of earning a living, these pioneer families combined efforts and resources to plant and cultivate the first Jewish communities and institutions in New Mexico. The fruit of their devotion is the rich, vibrant Jewish society that flourishes throughout the state and region today.

The early families never lived lives apart from the majority population; instead, they became active, dedicated members of their communities. They were heavily involved in civic affairs, and some occupied public offices, including Willi Spiegelberg, Mayor of Santa Fe, Henry Jaffa, the first Mayor of Albuquerque, and Solomon Bibo, who married an Acoma woman and eventually became the only non-native (and Jewish) governor of Acoma Pueblo.

While retaining loyalty to their Jewish faith, the Jewish pioneers generously supported financially local churches and local celebrations. One of the most notable examples is Santa Fe businessman Abraham Staab, who accumulated a large fortune as a major supply contractor for the U.S. Army during the Civil War, was very close to Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy and donated funds to help the beloved cleric build St. Francis Cathedral. Staab, and so many like him, have therefore left a rich legacy, which the New Mexico Jewish Video Project has gone far to uncover.

NMJHS expresses warmest appreciation to the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, The New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board, the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities, the Albuquerque Community Foundation and numerous private donors and Jewish Pioneer families, who provided funding for the study.

We also honor the 11 volunteers who were with the Jewish Pioneer Families project from start to finish: Richard Deutsch, Gail Jamin, Steve Kesselman, Anita Miller, Naomi Sandweiss, Paula Schwartz, Vivan Skadron, Judith Solo, Paula Steinberg, Pete Tannen and Barbara Weinbaum.

Is Old Technology Eating Your Lunch?
By Carole Petranovich, President, Computer Corner

This article was published in the March 2, 2006 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

We’re all concerned about the rising cost of energy. What effect is your computer equipment having on your power bill? How much time are you wasting waiting for your old equipment to perform?

We tend to follow the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” to justify keeping our old computer, monitor and printer. Then, of course, there’s the cost concern: “Should I really spend XXX on new equipment when this is working just fine?” But, what is it really costing you to hold on to your old technology?

Technology has changed markedly - especially in the past five years. According to statistics provided by Samsung, the cost of running an old-style CRT monitor averages $17 per year, while it costs only $5.40 per year to operate an LCD display. That’s not a huge saving, perhaps, unless your company has 100 computers and you’re suddenly looking at a $1,160 difference in the annual cost of running all this equipment. And with the price of energy rising, this difference can only grow larger.

What about that old laser printer? They are certainly built to last; some models survive for 10 or more years. But what does that mean to your pocketbook? Five to ten years ago, most moderately priced printers did not print on both sides of a sheet. Newer printers now offer this feature for a relatively low cost, saving on both equipment and paper (whose prices continue to rise because more expensive energy affects the costs of production and distribution).

As recently as five years ago, color laser printers were beyond the financial reach of most individuals and small businesses: a full-color print could cost as much as $5.00 per page in ink and materials, at a resolution of 300 or 600 dpi (dots per inch). The new generation of 1200 dpi laser printers produces photographic color prints and business documents for as little as 12 cents a page. Black-toner cartridges for older printers might be as high as $200 or more, while toner replacement costs for newer, faster printers with higher dpi resolution are about $100.

Also only five years ago, you would have paid $200 to $300 for a color inkjet printer with 720 dpi. Ten years ago you would have shelled out $500 to $900. Today you can find a 1440 or 2880 dpi Epson printer for under $99. Replacing the ink in your old inkjet will probably cost you about the same as buying a new printer, and you’ll gain speed (saving your valuable time) and color clarity.

The relatively new ENERGY STAR efficiency standard offers special power-management features in home and office products of all kinds. When you’re not using the equipment it automatically enters a low-power "sleep" mode. An ENERGY STAR qualified computer in sleep mode consumes about 80% less electricity than it does at full power, while an ENERGY STAR qualified monitor or printer uses up to 60% less electricity than standard models.

Still using a Pentium 4 computer? Imagine the time you’ll save running graphics programs, spell checking, opening and saving files, and doing calculations with a machine that operates more than three times faster.

Some people are still holding on to their 8- to 10-year-old operating systems, Windows 98 or even Windows 95. These systems are prone to crashes and lockups, and they do not even offer minimal protection against hackers and data loss. New features in Windows XP will help you save and restore your files, regardless of when you last performed the “Save” command.

Replacing your old equipment can be an important investment, giving you more productivity, safety, cost savings, and higher quality print jobs over the long run.

The Uncharted Journey:
Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Getting on with Life
By Barbara Kline Hammond

This article was published in the February 2006 issue of New Mexico WOMAN magazine.

If you’ve ever had one, it stands out in sharp detail – like hearing about the Kennedy assassination for several generations of Americans. You know where you were. What was said. You can recall details about the air, the colors, the other people present. “It” is a cancer diagnosis.

Adele Frances, a life coach in Albuquerque, tells me an anecdote about seeing her doctor in the hall prior to entering the examination room to hear the results of a mammogram. “He said, ‘How are you?’ I said, ‘I don’t know until you tell me.’ He told me it looked cancerous, that I should see a surgeon about a biopsy. I wasn’t surprised; I had been preparing.” Adele had just gone through a sister’s breast cancer, as well as helping one of her friends. “I was concerned, but not traumatized,” she said.

Tammy McQuitty was a young mother of 28. Her doctor had suggested she have a mole removed – nothing serious, but let’s not take chances. “After the biopsy, I was told to get back in my doctor’s office as soon as possible,” says Tammy. “I cried. My first thought was: what is going to happen to my children?”

When my turn came, I found out in the recovery room. I had gone in for emergency surgery after a doctor took a look at a very unassuming lump on my leg, and the first words I heard coming out of the anesthesia were from my doctor: “It’s malignant. I’ve made an appointment with an oncologist for you on Friday.” And he was gone.

Treating cancer is unlike anything you have experienced with a common cold or even a more serious acute ailment. There are typically a number of options that a Tumor Board at your hospital will consider. In addition, you are drawn into the conversation. The typical cancer patient is handed stacks of papers discussing options, and there is more information available on the Internet, at the bookstore, from friends, from natural healers, and from others.

Typical allopathic treatments include surgery that may or may not change the shape of your body; radiation that can lead to internal and external burns; and chemotherapy that is designed to bring your body to a near death state in the hopes of killing off cancer cells and leaving healthy cells the opportunity to recover. In addition, there are a variety of health regimens that may be recommended by your doctors or by others who have opinions on the matter. Because your immune system is particularly weak, you may decide to cut out all sugar because cancer cells appear to thrive in the presence of sugars; you may decide to eliminate harsh chemicals (cleaning equipment, cosmetics, dyes, smoke) from your environment; or you may even want to limit your exposure to pets.

You are more tired than you have ever been. You are probably frightened. Your life revolves around doctor and hospital visits and tests. It is so tempting to give up, and yet . . . talk to a cancer survivor and you will learn that life with cancer takes on a sweet edge. You have the opportunity to pare life down to what really matters. All of the sudden, death isn’t something far out on the horizon that you can avoid thinking about for a little longer.

While it is possible for some people to get to the other side of cancer with little apparent impact in their lives, many cancer survivors recognize the gift they have been given.

Adele notes that cancer was her second life-threatening illness. Her first was a profound depression that led to a suicide attempt. When cancer came five years later, she took it with a certain stoic grace. “I had just started back to work after 25 years at home. I was a career counselor in a college, recently divorced, so I kept working through my treatment because I had to. Luckily, my employer was very supportive,” she says.

Adele, an author and public speaker, did a lot of speaking and writing about her depression. However, roughly six years into her recovery from cancer, she decided to move her emphasis to cancer. “Surviving breast cancer has deepened the richness of living. The primary reason I have come back to the cancer conversation is that it keeps me honest . . . Now that I am helping to run a support group, I honor the sacredness of those conversations so much – from both patient and caregiver. When I get away from the conversation, I can get complacent.”

Although her husband was very supportive during her treatment, four years later, Tammy is divorced. She has become an esthetician, and she is adamant about sun protection. Melanoma is not just a disease for the old. She is a campaigner for awareness.

As a result of the cancer experience, Tammy is finding herself becoming more contemplative. “I’m not as willing to ‘get into it’ with other people these days. Life is too precious. Yes, I worry sometimes (that cancer will come back), but I really appreciate each moment. I have started going back to church regularly and I am looking for other ways to give back.”

It takes courage to live through cancer. When you know what to look for, it is often easy to detect who has been through the experience. While cancer is not a recommended strategy for developing self-awareness, it is certainly the proof of the old adage: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

Barbara Kline Hammond is founder of The Day Spa at Serenity Gardens (www.SerenityGardensNM.com), a spa dedicated providing a relaxing, nurturing environment and safe and natural treatments that are as pure of chemicals and irritants as it is possible to provide. While reducing exposure to harsh chemicals is crucial for cancer patients and others with impaired immune systems, Kline Hammond feels that any reduction of the chemical burden is equally attractive to healthy spa patrons.

Kline Hammond worked through her fears, rage, frustration and wonder regarding the cancer experience through writing and publishing two books on the cancer experience: ‘Cancer’s Gifts: Meditations on Healing, Being and Forgiving’ and ‘Victory: How to Organize to Survive a Cancer Diagnosis’.

“They are very different books,” says Kline Hammond. “’Cancer’s Gifts’ looks at how to manage the ‘unconscious cruelties’ that happen daily while undergoing cancer treatment – from the fear of new test results to the lack of understanding or empathy of family, friends, or strangers encountered while dealing with the effects of the disease. ‘Victory’ covers the organizational issues: what papers to keep, what papers are expendable, how to work with doctors, insurance agencies, pharmacies, etc.”

The books can be purchased at the spa or online at www.Amazon.com or www.BarnesandNoble.com.

To share what she learned from her cancer experience, she founded CanSurvival (www.CanSurvival.org), a non-profit to help people diagnosed with cancer maintain a sense of control and optimism in their lives. CanSurvival offers workshops and video tapes based on the books she developed.

“I came to hate the term ‘cancer victim’ because it embodied what happened to a lot of people when they were diagnosed,” she says. “Moving into the world of a cancer patient is overwhelming; you are fighting for your life. It is easy to feel that things have moved beyond your control. I believe that most people who survive a cancer experience learn to take a positive and proactive approach to their treatment program. In fact, when doctors evaluate patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, one of the key attributes they track is attitude.

New Mexico Can Build A Better Health System
By Jane Blume and Mary Feldblum

This article was published in the Thursday, December 1, 2005 edition of the Albuquerque Journal.

Winthrop Quigley raised some interesting questions in his November 10^th Business Outlook column, "What is `fair' when it comes to insurance?" - including:

The "fairness" of paying for health benefits we might not use.
Whether people want a choice of health plans.
Whether placing those who use health care services more often in the same insurance pool with younger, healthier individuals penalizes the healthy.

Answers to these questions lead to a compelling reason why New Mexico needs to have a system that guarantees health coverage for everyone.

Why pay for services we don't use? We buy auto insurance hoping we may never have an auto accident, but knowing we'll be covered if we do. The same is true for health insurance. We may be healthy today, but even the youngest, healthiest people can experience a major illness or serious injury in an accident.

Is "choice of plans" preferable? In September the Commonwealth Fund, which supports independent research on health care issues, published "Choice in Health Care: What Do People Really Want?" The study was conducted in light of recent proposals to give consumers more "choices" by severing the link between employers and health insurance, expanding the individual health insurance market, and promoting health savings accounts. It concluded that, "having a choice of health care providers matters more to people than having a choice of health plans." It confirms the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2002 Health Confidence Survey, which found that 9 out of 10 Americans believe the ability to choose their own doctor or hospital to be extremely or very important.

Why one health insurance pool? Large insurance pools spread the risk and tend to control costs more effectively. On November 9, in a National Public Radio "Morning Edition" story about the new Medicare drug benefit, health insurance industry consultant Robert Laszewski said, "The basic principle of insurance is that you get the sick people and the healthy people coming together in the pool, and the healthy people paying premiums into the pool and offsetting the costs of the sicker people."

Pooling employees enables larger employers to pay lower health insurance premiums than small employers do.

In the United States we're divided among numerous separate insurance pools, which is inefficient, wasteful and costly. From 1997 to 2003 administrative costs of private and public insurance grew at a much faster rate than medical expenditures. In dollar amounts, administrative costs nearly doubled during that seven-year period. (Health Affairs, Jan/Feb 2005)

In 1993 the New Mexico legislature and Health Policy Commission hired the health-policy consulting firm, The Lewin Group, to cost out three different models of health insurance coverage. Lewin's study concluded that the state would save billions of dollars over time if New Mexicans were in one pool. Studies in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, Connecticut, Missouri and California reached similar conclusions.

So what is "fair" about the current insurance system?

Is it fair that the numbers of uninsured continue to rise? U.S. Census figures show that from 2000-2004 the number of Americans without health coverage grew by six million. 21.4% of New Mexico residents - over 400,000 people - had no insurance in 2004.

Is it fair that growing numbers of Americans are unable to pay their health care bills and too often are forced to declare bankruptcy?

Is it fair that employers are faced with unaffordable double-digit increases in health insurance premiums?

Is it fair that we're paying more for the deteriorating quality of our health care?

Systems of universal coverage have been shown to do a much better job in terms of lower per capita costs, life expectancy and infant mortality. The latest Commonwealth Fund-sponsored survey revealed that Americans pay more when they get sick, receive more confused, error-prone treatment, and are much more likely to forgo needed care because of cost, than their counterparts in New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada, whose populations are in large "community-rated" health insurance pools.

Our private insurance system has failed and increasing numbers of people are concluding that the fairest arrangement is one where we're all in it together. An Albuquerque Journal poll, released September 17, 2004, reported that 47% of New Mexicans surveyed favor a national government plan that covers everyone.

We cannot afford to wait for our fragile health care system to completely collapse. Congress does not seem willing to address serious health care reform. In New Mexico, however, we have a choice and an opportunity. We can choose to support an "unfair" broken system, or we have an opportunity to set up our own statewide health plan that guarantees coverage for all New Mexicans, freedom of choice of doctor and a comprehensive benefit package. The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign believes we cannot afford to miss such an opportunity any longer.

Jane Blume, owner of Desert Sky Communications, is the Public Relations Consultant for the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign. Mary Feldblum is the Executive Director of the Campaign, a coalition of 108 organizations. The Campaign can be reached at 897-1803, www.nmhealthsecurity.org.

Employee Assistance Programs: Critical Investments in Your People
By Jane Hertz, Executive Director, Outcomes, Inc.

This article was published in the June 30th edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

At 3:00 one afternoon I received a telephone call about a murder-suicide that had occurred in front of a local financial institution - and many of the employees had witnessed it. At first the manager didn't think that the employees would need counseling; but at 6:00 the next morning I received another call saying that the security guards who had been on duty were displaying signs of severe trauma. Members of our staff went over there immediately to provide "critical incident debriefings" to help the affected people cope with the tragedy.

Unfortunately, a local auto dealer experienced a similar incident, refused assistance, and suffered business reversals later.

Although devastating incidents such as these happen relatively rarely, our response to the one I described above is one example of how an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can benefit employers and the people who work for them. For-profit companies, non-profit groups and government agencies are increasingly relying upon EAPs to keep their people emotionally healthy and productive.

EAPs began in the late 1960s when Eastern Airlines detected evidence of alcoholism among its pilots. Since it is very expensive to train these critical personnel, Eastern chose not to fire them; instead, its medical director set up a rehabilitation program to get the pilots off alcohol so that they could return to work and fly safely. The success of Eastern's program led the other airlines to quickly adopt it, and then similar programs spread to industries and companies throughout the country.

Early on, EAPs were directed only towards alcohol and substance abuse. However, in the late 1970s, McDonnell Douglas recognized that their employees' personal problems had a powerful impact on productivity. In the late 1980s, when record numbers of husbands and wives were working, employers realized that it was impossible for people to leave their personal problems at home. As a result, EAPs became a workplace "best practice," and have evolved to serve both employees and their families (spouses, partners and children up to age 18).

Today, employers have the option to invest in internal or external EAPs. Because their personnel do have legitimate concerns about confidentiality, most organizations choose to contract with external EAP providers who are capable of providing such programs in an easily accessible environment - which is critical in today's work world.

EAP programs are broad and comprehensive. Traditional EAP mental health services include - but are not limited to - evaluations, diagnoses, psychological counseling, and treatment for chemical and substance abuse and gambling dependency. Other services include wellness promotion, work-life balance and stress management.

Because we recognize that we don't have to wait for a dire emergency and that it is possible to prevent one, EAPs can and do provide on-site workshops in interpersonal communications, anger management, coping with holiday blues, and tips for maintaining healthy families. In addition, employees are encouraged to see a counselor right away if a problem begins to develop. As a matter of fact, a majority of individuals who seek EAP services come in on self-referral.

The value of prevention and early treatment has been well documented: people who deal with their emotional issues and the stressors in their lives need fewer prescriptions and doctor visits.

The widespread use of EAPs signifies that we recognize that human capital is our most important asset, and that it has to be invested in, not just managed and controlled. Every employer - no matter what the size - has an obligation to make a financial commitment to programs that will make a positive impact on employee attitudes, attendance, conduct, ethical practices and productivity. An organization cannot thrive without making these investments.

Founded in 1951, Outcomes Inc. is a private, not-for-profit agency offering counseling, adoption education, support services to elders, and career and job services to enrich and strengthen family life in New Mexico.

Alarming Health Statistics for African-Americans and Other Minorities: But There's Something We Can Do About It
by Joby Wallace, People of African Descent Health Network

This article was published in the February issue of The Perspective magazine.

When President Clinton proposed his national health plan over ten years ago, 35 million people did not have health insurance. The situation has continued to deteriorate since then: today more than 44 million Americans are uninsured (400,000 in New Mexico alone), and most of them have jobs. The National Coalition on Health Care, an alliance that includes big businesses, labor unions, health care providers, religious organizations and large pension plans, estimates that this number may jump to more than 50 million by next year.

The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy, says on its website that "African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans all suffer disproportionately from chronic disease, cancer, and infectious disease." In other words, minority Americans lag behind whites in nearly every measure of health care:

Nearly one-half of Hispanics and one-third of African Americans lack health insurance.
Nearly one out of six African American (15.5%), one of seven Hispanics (13%) and one of 10 Asian Americans (11%) say they feel they would receive better health care if they were of a different race or ethnicity.
Approximately 60% of elderly (65+ years of age) white people have been vaccinated for influenza while just 39% of African Americans of the same age group reported receiving such vaccinations.
Compared to whites, minorities are less likely to be given appropriate cardiac medications, undergo bypass surgery, receive kidney dialysis and transplants, get appropriate cancer diagnostics tests and treatment, and have access to the most sophisticated treatments for HIV/AIDS. The disparities in treating heart disease, cancer and HIV infection are partly responsible for higher death rates for Americans of color.
Minority patients are more likely to receive certain less-desirable medical procedures such as lower limb amputations for diabetes.
A disproportionate number of minorities are enrolled in more affordable but lower-end health insurance plans, which provide fewer resources per patient and place stricter limits on covered services.

Clearly, this situation is unacceptable and growing worse. The National Coalition on Health Care has called for complete, systemic health care reform to happen quickly, but it does not appear that Congress will heed their call. However, we have an opportunity to do something positive right here in New Mexico.

People of African Descent Health Network is very pleased to be one of 90 members (and growing) of a statewide coalition called the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, which has been working for over a decade on universal health care coverage. The Campaign supports legislation called The Health Security Act, which will be introduced in this year's legislative session by State Representative Luciano "Lucky" Varela in the House and by State Senator Carlos Cisneros in the Senate.

If passed and signed by the Governor, the Act will create a statewide health plan guaranteeing that New Mexicans - regardless of age, employment, income or health status - will have comprehensive health coverage and freedom of choice of provider, even across state lines.

What does this mean? It means that we won't have to worry about losing our health insurance or whether we can afford it.

It means that African-Americans will be able choose doctors and pharmacists whom they feel will treat them with respect. This will lead to more effective patient-physician communication, and therefore, better health care.

It means that we will have equity in our health care system: we can eliminate low-end insurance plans and strict limits on services that can be covered. The allowable covered health services offered under the health plan can be no less than what is currently offered New Mexico's state employees, who have a generous benefit package.

An independent, publicly accountable, geographically representative, 15-member citizens' commission will be responsible for running the health plan. Ten commissioners will represent consumer and business interests and five will represent health care providers. We will finance the plan combining public and private dollars into a dedicated fund. Funding sources include current federal and state monies spent on health care (Medicaid, for example) plus premiums from individuals based on income and contributions from employers (with caps).

The health plan will take three years to set up. The first year focuses on whether the Plan is affordable. The current system will remain in place until the public, the legislature and the Governor believe that it is ready to begin operations.

The Health Plan will not cover all New Mexicans. Federal retirees and active-duty and retired military will remain with their current coverage. The tribes and large companies that self-insure under a federal law called ERISA may elect to join. However, the result will be that all New Mexicans will have health insurance. That is very good news.

People of African Descent Health Network enthusiastically support the Health Security Act. It has been developed over a long period of time with input from people all around the state. The Plan set up under the Act truly meets the needs of New Mexico; it will lead to better health care for all, especially for minorities.

We urge all readers of The Perspective to get involved, to contact or visit your legislators, ask them to vote for the Health Security Act, and to ask Governor Richardson to support it.

We have an opportunity to do something about this growing health care crisis in a way that will put this state on the map in a very positive way. For more information about the Health Security Act, or if you want to get involved in the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, call 897-1803 or visit www.NMhealthsecurity.org.

A Pre-Nuptial Pact Might Save the Business
By David H. Kelsey, Managing Partner, Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A.

This article was published in the January 27, 2005 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

New Mexico has seen the break-up of many businesses due to divorce – a huge ranch that had been in the same family for generations and a large auto dealership come to mind. After more than 40 years of practicing divorce and family law, I’ve come to the conclusion that pre-marital agreements should be seriously considered for first marriages, and they are a “must” for second and third unions - to protect the interests of the business owner and his/her children, and to keep the business in the family if that is an important goal.

People are more likely to seek a pre-marital agreement if they’ve had a very ugly first divorce. I recommend that they obtain such an agreement no matter what the first divorce was like.

Throughout recorded history (and perhaps even before) pre-marital agreements were put in place to keep assets in a family and to protect children of first marriages. These days, children can be provided for with proceeds from a life insurance policy and appropriate portions of an estate. This does not mean that the current spouse - who does not have an ownership or financial interest in the business or other important asset - will remain unprotected: you can accomplish that goal with life insurance proceeds or other financial compensations.

No spouse of in a second or third marriage can or should count on verbal promises: all arrangements must be made in writing.

Pre-nuptial agreements should specify that the family residence will be in both spouses’ names: a husband does not want to live in a house belonging to his wife only, and a wife doesn’t want to run a house that is not in her name, and in which she has no financial interest.

There are usually three reasons why a pre-nuptial agreement is set aside:

Duress. A spouse is given the agreement “on the way to the altar,” doesn’t have time to reflect on the provisions of the document, and signs it under duress. (In a case in New Jersey, the judge ruled that once the wedding invitations had been sent, it was too late to demand a pre-nuptial agreement.)
No advice of counsel. Each party to the agreement must be able to obtain advice from an independent counsel to ensure that the agreement is fair to both sides. It is unethical and a conflict of interest for one attorney to advise the two individuals involved.
No complete disclosure. Both parties must completely disclose their assets and debts so that each person knows what they’re getting into. (Such agreements are set aside more often when the man understates his assets – not when the woman underreports her liabilities.)

In an ideal world, we would keep all the verbal promises we make, never lie to our prospective spouses, and never need a written contract to protect our interests. Based upon what I have seen in the “real” world, business owners are well advised to obtain pre-nuptial agreements in writing before marrying. It will save them a lot of potential heartache down the road.

Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A. was the first law firm in New Mexico to specialize in divorce and family law in 1974.

Attackers Breach the Cybersecurity Walls
By Carole Petranovich, Owner, Computer Corner

This article was published in the November 11, 2004 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

This past year, a number of our clients have experienced invasions of their computers and computer networks:

Spyware or Adware probes: One client’s computer network was running too slowly; we discovered that over 100 “Spyware” probes had taken over the network’s resources. Whenever employees entered a website, downloaded information or researched a product, they opened a pipeline to their computers. Hackers utilized Spyware to acquire marketing data and other confidential information.
Virus infections: At another company, employees were unable to run various business-critical applications, including payroll. Thousands of viruses were running rampant on the network because the virus-scanning software had not been updated for several years.

Other companies of all sizes have experienced losses of critical data, files not responding to commands, and inadvertent send-outs of spam e-mail messages and viruses to clients and contacts in their e-mail address books.
Trojan Horses: After visiting various websites for research purposes, personnel at other firms have received emails and attachments with the subject lines in the messages reflecting the research topics. These innocent-looking e-mails were “Trojan Horses”: like the original gift of a huge horse hiding Greek invaders inside, the attachments, when opened, unleashed various “viruses” or “worms” into the computer systems.
Phishing: Other companies and individuals have received emails from purportedly legitimate enterprises, trying to con recipients into surrendering private information for purposes of identity theft.

Cyber-security professionals believe that various invasions have infected 90% of computers worldwide at one time or another. The International Security Association says that more than “60,000 viruses have been identified, and that 400 new ones are created every month.” A recent joint Earthlink and Webroot company study revealed that Spyware audits turn up an average of 26.5 Spyware and Adware traces per system scanned. Destructive applications attack computers running Microsoft operating systems, primarily.

You can protect your company from catastrophic system failures and disruptions:

Buy Spyware/Adware protection software. Your system is vulnerable to Spyware probes after a visit to any website. Some anti-Spyware software is free, but you may get what you pay for.
Establish firewalls. Hardware and software firewalls allow you to restrict in-bound and out-bound access to your network or computer. Otherwise, hackers can access data through one or more open network ports.
Purchase anti-virus software and update it regularly. You’ll receive maximum protection if your software licenses are current and you update the programs daily. At a minimum, perform weekly updates.
Thoroughly educate your staff. All the best tools will not protect you if they’re not used properly. Staff should never open email attachments from unknown persons.
Establish policies about emails, downloading software and web surfing. Limit website visits and email exchanges to business related purposes. Staff should not enter on-line contests or download programs or trial versions of software - unless they’ve been scanned for viruses or Spyware.
Avoid email access by outsiders from your company’s website. Take email addresses off your website, or invest in website encryption, which blocks outsiders from harvesting your e-mail addresses with automated “spider” software programmed for this purpose.

When you suspect infections or attacks, run your anti-virus or Spyware protection software (if you know how); otherwise, consult your in-house IT specialist or consultant immediately. If you don’t have a competent professional helping you, here is how to find one:

Make sure that the outside company or consultant has a business license. Determine how long this firm or individual has been in business and check references. Look at the credentials of the consultant or the company’s personnel: the top experts are MCSE’s – Microsoft Certified System Engineers - and this designation is on their business cards. Find someone else if your so-called expert isn’t solving your problems.

Computer Corner has a free brochure about cyber-security that you can download from our website, www.compcorner.com .

What to Do When Divorce Comes to Work
By David H. Kelsey, Attorney-at-Law and Managing Partner, Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A.

This article was published in the June 17, 2004 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

With the high divorce rate in our society, if you are a business owner it is likely that you or one or more of your employees, managers or partners is already divorced, or will experience a marital breakup while working with you.

If you have already gone through this experience yourself - or with one of your people - then you know that it is a very trying time – both for the individual involved and for his/her friends, relatives and co-workers. The dissolution of a marriage is an emotionally and financially draining ordeal. The person’s workday is often disrupted by telephone calls from attorneys and others, and his/her lifestyle invariably changes – sometimes for the better, and sometimes for worse.

If you have not had this experience yet, you need to anticipate that if someone in your firm obtains a divorce, the organization will become involved to some extent because the employee in question will have to provide a lot of financial information in writing to his/her legal counsel. The lawyer for “the other side” will ask for it also; both attorneys need the data to determine the asset distribution. The larger the share that this individual has in your business, the more information the attorneys will want to obtain. In any situation where there are children involved, you can expect the divorcing parties to negotiate or try to obtain child support.

You can expect the parties or their attorneys to request:

Proof of income. How much does the employee earn in salary, bonuses, stock options, and profit-sharing income?
A copy of the health insurance plan. How much does the plan cost the insured, the spouse and their dependents? Does the plan actually cover dependents? How long will the other spouse be covered after the divorce becomes final?
Retirement information. Do you have a 401(k) plan for your employees? Where is it invested and who is the trustee? What is the current balance in this employee’s retirement fund? Who are the beneficiaries?
Profit-sharing plan. Same questions as above about where invested, who the trustee is, what the current balance is and who the beneficiaries are.
Ownership of the business. If your company offers stock options, has the individual in question taken advantage of the plan? If the answer is yes, how many shares does he/she own and what is the value of these shares? If the person is a partner, what percentage of the business does he/she own? What is its current value? How much is the entire business worth? Is there a buy/sell agreement in place?
Perks. What other perks does the employee receive? Does the company provide a car, a company credit card, an expense account, Country Club membership, promotional contests that award expensive vacations – or other benefits of working there?

In addition to the information above, you may also be asked to provide details about the past three to five years of the person’s salary and benefit history, and how much you and your employee have contributed to the benefits package.

To minimize interruptions and disruptions, you might consider providing all of this information to the attorneys at one time instead of responding to individual requests. Of course, it will be easier to do this if you have all of the financial information filed or stored in one place – both for you and for all of your employees.

Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A. was the first law firm in New Mexico to specialize in divorce and family law in 1974.

Painting a Larger Picture of Health Bills
By Jane Blume and Mary Feldblum, Ph.D.

This article was published in the June 24, 2004 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

In Dr. Micha Gisser’s June 3rd column, “State plan should include the uninsured,” he wrote, “We need a solid economic study based on a fresh survey of uninsured persons in New Mexico.”

We respectfully disagree. We already know from previous surveys that the majority of uninsured in New Mexico – and in the U.S. for that matter – are working people who cannot afford health insurance, and neither can their employers.

Dr. Gisser is not alone in wanting to focus attention on the uninsured. The New Mexico Department of Human Services has received a $900,000 federal grant to study the uninsured with the idea of developing special insurance products that they might be likely to purchase. However, to make these insurance policies affordable, either the benefits will have to be severely limited, or the state taxpayers will have to subsidize the premiums.

Moreover, using public money to subsidize premiums actually rewards insurance companies who have not only failed to solve the problem of costly health insurance, but indeed have aggravated the situation by:

Parceling our insured population into small risk groups,
Making it nearly impossible for people with “pre-existing” conditions to buy health I nsurance, and --
Making it difficult for employers to purchase or retain good health insurance.

We suggest that instead of worrying about who among the uninsured is “truly needy” (Dr. Gisser’s words), or trying to design insurance products that will appeal to the uninsured, we focus on the larger picture. In addition to the fact that 22% of New Mexico’s population do not have health insurance (and these numbers have not changed very much over the past decade), even those who currently have health insurance are insecure.

Employers who provide insurance have seen double-digit premium increases annually for the past few years, and are shifting more of the share of the premiums to their employees. Federal retirees have seen their premiums rise, and private-sector retirees are losing benefits, too.

These changes are occurring in part because of cost shifting: This means that the insured end up paying for the uninsured through taxes and higher premiums. Moreover, cost shifting also occurs when payments to providers from Medicare and Medicaid are reduced. Providers try to shift those costs onto the private sector, whenever possible. If they can’t cost-shift, doctors may refuse to see patients covered under a specific health plan, or community hospitals may be forced to reduce services or sell to a larger (usually out-of-state) entity.

In addition, our health insurance system is inefficient: the insured are segmented into hundreds of insurance plans, with relatively small numbers of people covered under each plan. Small insurance groups are riskier to insure, and therefore, the costs are higher for these groups. Large numbers of insurance plans add to the administrative overhead of providers who must have sufficient office personnel to deal with considerable numbers of policies.

Solutions that only focus on the uninsured will not address the problem of rising health care costs, cost shifting, and an inefficient, segmented insurance system. Adding more insurance products to the market only increases the administrative burdens faced by doctors and hospitals. In a state with only 1.8 million people, this complex system does not make sense.

We think that the time is long past for patchwork solutions – they simply have not worked. We believe that systemic reform of the health care insurance system is needed.

For the past decade, the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign has been working on such reform. Our proposed New Mexico Health Care Plan returns to the idea of old-fashioned insurance, where we’re all in it together, sharing the risks. A large insurance pool covering most New Mexicans (no matter what their health, economic or employment status is) would diminish risk, stabilize costs, allow for bulk purchasing of prescription drugs and other medical equipment, and decrease administrative overhead.

The proposed Plan guarantees choice of doctor (even across state lines), a comprehensive benefit package, and a reduction in the cost of workers’ comp, auto and other insurance premiums (which have large medical components). According to a 1994 study commissioned by the New Mexico Health Policy Commission and the state legislature, had New Mexico implemented such a plan by 1997 today we would have saved $4.6 billion dollars.

Our health care system is deteriorating fast. The projections are not good. Focusing on one narrow part of the system will not solve this crisis. We hope that all New Mexicans will want to learn more about the Campaign’s proposed New Mexico Health Care Plan. It offers a clear path out of this growing storm.

Jane Blume is the public relations consultant for the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign. Mary Feldblum, Ph.D. is the Campaign’s executive director.

A Decade of Helping Women in Business
By Jane Blume and Sandy Cody

This article was originally published as "From the Executive's Desk" in the August 7, 2003 issue of the Albuquerque Journal's Business Outlook section.

Recently the Northern New Mexico Chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) celebrated a decade of working for the women business owners of our state. Ours is one of 93 chapters in a national organization with 8,000 members, and it is the only dues-based national association representing all women entrepreneurs in all types of businesses.

Nationally, NAWBO traces its beginnings to a group of twelve women business owners in Washington, D.C., who in 1974 began meeting informally to exchange information about procuring federal contracts, bank credit and other important business issues. NAWBO officially began in October of 1976. Its vision is to propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social, and political spheres of power worldwide. Its mission is to:

Strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of our members and promote economic development,
Create innovative and effective changes in the business culture,
Build strategic alliances, coalitions, and affiliations – and –
Transform public policy and influence opinion.

When a dynamic public relations expert, Judie Framan, moved to New Mexico from California in 1993 and became Founding President of the Chapter, little could she and her sister organizers have imagined what the next decade would bring.

Several of our past presidents have risen into significant positions of political influence. After serving as chair of the state Democratic Party, Diane Denish (1996-67) was elected Lieutenant Governor last November. Joan Schlueter (1997-98) was recently appointed to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) National Advisory Council, and is a founding National Partner of the 500,000-member Women Impacting Public Policy. Joan and Samantha Lapin (1999-2000), along with several other Chapter members, serve locally on the Central Area Workforce Development Board.

The Chapter‘s permanent Public Policy Committee has also made its mark:

1993-1994: The Committee spearheaded an investigation of women business certification procedures with the City of Albuquerque and State Highway Department, resulting in significant reorganization and more reasonable certification requirements.
1995: Chapter members comprised more than half of the New Mexico delegation to the White House Conference on Small Business; Diane Denish served as delegation chair.
1999-present: The Committee introduced - and continues to lead - seminars on Grass Roots Lobbying in New Mexico.
2002: The Chapter led the successful effort to defeat the mandatory requirements of New Mexico’s Family and Medical Leave Act (the voluntary requirements remain).

The Small Business Administration has recognized five of our presidents for their work to strengthen all women business owners. Judie Framan and Samantha Lapin won the SBA’s local, regional and national Women in Business Advocate of the Year Award. Joan Schlueter and Cheri Tillman Anderson (2001-02) earned this honor at the local and regional level, and Phyllis Boverie (2000-01) was named local and regional Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year.

The entire Chapter is firmly committed to a mentorship program for members with new companies and women-owned businesses that have received loans from such alternative lenders as WESST corp.

We have also nurtured some of the next generation of women business owners. Over the past seven years, the Chapter has raised thousands of dollars for scholarships to send more than 45 young New Mexicans to Camp Start-up, a national summer program that teaches young women ages 13-19 how to become entrepreneurs.

In addition to our presidents, many of our “regular” (!) members have earned important recognition, from awards in their areas of expertise to leadership positions in other business and professional groups, such as Executive Women International, Downtown Action Team and The Association for Women in Communications.

With our Chapter having grown from 40 members in 1993 to over 300 today, it is clear that “the word is out”: if you’re a woman who owns a business, NAWBO is where you want to be.

Band-aid Solutions for Health Care Are Not the Answer:
It’s Time for the New Mexico Health Care Plan
By Jane Blume CMC^®

This article was published in the January 23, 2003 Albuquerque Tribune. In addition to everything else that she does, Jane Blume is a member of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign.

In November of last year, the National Academy of Sciences released a report containing ideas “to address the mounting problems that threaten to overwhelm America’s health care system.” One of the recommendations in the report, which was written at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, was that “three to five states be selected to embark on model projects designed to extend health coverage to all residents.”

The report also suggested that coverage could be extended by expanding Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Under our previous governor, the Human Services Department developed its own health initiative involving SCHIP that will use that program’s unspent funds to subsidize health insurance premiums at current market rates for small, private employers through private insurers. But this plan would only cover 10% of the estimated 400,000 New Mexicans – mostly the working poor and 24% of the population - who have no health insurance. (An estimated additional 20% are “underinsured” - a significant medical event could lead to financial ruin.)

Last fall, then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson proposed that we try to stop the flow of doctors leaving the state by removing the gross receipts tax on their fees.

All of these ideas, while well-intentioned, do not respond to one of the major underlying problems: namely, that our insured population is currently segregated into separate insurance systems – Medicaid and Medicare, and hundreds of different private plans. This is inefficient and costly: with smaller groups covered, administrative expenses and premiums rise ever higher.

Band-aids won’t save a patient with a major illness. The Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign believes that the time has come for complete systemic reform. Our “home-grown” New Mexico Health Care Plan, which will be introduced into this current legislative session, is smothered in green chile and was developed with the input of many affected stakeholders.

Our Plan is a return to “old-fashioned” insurance, where we’re all in it together, sharing the risks. By putting large numbers of people in one insurance pool, rising health costs would be reduced.

The New Mexico Health Plan provides for:

Guaranteed coverage for all: All New Mexicans will be covered no matter what their age, employment or health status.
Good benefits: They are to be no less than what our state employees receive.
Free choice: New Mexicans covered by the Plan will be able to go to doctors, hospitals or any other providers of their choice - even across state lines. Competition and the private health care system will be preserved.
Cost savings: Having most New Mexicans under one health plan will substantially reduce administrative costs for health care providers and business owners. A 1994 study of health care costs in New Mexico, by The Lewin Group of Washington, D.C., concluded that billions of dollars would be saved should such a system be implemented.
Reduced rates for other insurance: Because workers’ compensation, automobile, and medical malpractice insurance policies cover medical care, the legislation requires the Superintendent of Insurance to reduce the premium costs that cover the medical portion of these policies.
Accessibility: Health care providers and hospitals will no longer have to be concerned about whether or not a patient has insurance. In addition, the Plan allows for higher levels of reimbursements to health entities in rural and other medically underserved areas.
Retiree protections: No retiree loses their Medicare or employer Medicare supplemental benefits.
Provider input: Providers will have an important role in the decision-making process.
Accountability: The process of determining benefits, premiums, provider reimbursements will be conducted through an open, publicly accountable fashion.
Simplicity: Health care providers will no longer have to deal with hundreds of insurance plans.
Appropriate financing: More than 50% of the monies currently spent on health care in our state come from Medicare, Medicaid, and other public funds. These monies, plus individual premiums and employer contributions (with caps), will be placed in a dedicated fund to reimburse providers.

The Legislative Finance Committee, with public input, will be responsible for determining the financing package once the legislation has passed. The Plan will not be implemented until the financing has been finally approved in the 2004 legislative session. It is a “go-slow” approach that will take three years to complete.

A geographically representative Commission will administer the Plan, with ten commissioners representing consumer and business interests and five representing providers. The Commission will be independent of state government - with the flexibility of the private sector in hiring, contracting and responding to new situations as they arise, and the accountability of the public sector because all meetings are conducted “in the light of day.”

The Plan will cover most New Mexicans, except for retired federal employees; active-duty military and their dependents under CHAMPUS; and Native American tribes and companies that are self-insured under ERISA – who may participate if they so choose.

The Plan is supported by many individuals and a coalition of 55 (and growing) groups, including faith-based organizations, community and social service groups, medical groups of various kinds, unions and a growing number of businesses. The idea has received such broad support because it is well conceived, and responds in a comprehensive way to the current medical insecurity we now face in our state.

Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign: 505-897-1803, www.NMhealthsecurity.org

Lay-Offs Should Be A Last Resort – But Planned For Early On
By Sandra L. Cody, Resources for Excellence, Inc.

Sandra L. Cody is President of Resources for Excellence, Inc., a management-consulting firm working with businesses, non-profits and government agencies on best practices to develop effective people and processes, attain efficient performance and build growing profits. Telephone: 505-323-1415. The firm’s website is www.resourcesforexcellence.com. This article is provided for informational purposes, and is not a substitute for legal or other professional advice. This article was originally published as a "Guest Commentary" in the May 2, 2002 issue of The Albuquerque Journal.

Last fall and winter, daily news reports announced round after round of massive lay-offs. While these announcements focused primarily on the Fortune 500 firms, the reality is that lay-offs have hit, and continue to hit, companies of all sizes.

In its “2001 Layoffs and Job Security Survey,” the Society for Human Resource Management reported that the responding companies tried to avoid the forced layoffs by utilizing attrition, employment freezes, not renewing contracts, and encouraging employees to take vacations or early retirement.

The survey demonstrates that companies of all sizes would be wise to develop strategies for dealing the reality of the business cycle, which includes both economic growth and economic slow-downs. The best time to decide how to handle lay-offs should be early on, when a company is growing and beginning to hire staff. The firm’s leaders should decide simultaneously how to structure both the employment arrangements and the employee policies, wages and benefits. The latter need to be flexible enough so as not to hobble the company’s early growth, but also detailed enough to offer guidance for unexpected contingencies, such as a lay-off or Reduction-in-Force (RIF).

As many business owners have (unhappily) learned, downsizing is rife with the possibility of litigation, especially with the strong emotions generated by letting workers go. Even with appropriate policies in place, the responsible business owner should undertake a RIF with care, analyzing in detail all of the legal and economic implications.

Here are ten steps you can take to avoid legal claims if you have to resort to a RIF:

Review the Human Resource (personnel) policies that were created at the time your organization began adding staff - to ensure that they clearly outline the RIF process: i.e., how the affected employees are selected, the severance package, the early-retirement criteria, and rehiring guidelines.
If and when a RIF becomes the only option, your firm’s policies should clearly define the reason(s) for doing it. For each reason, list the goals and/or or outcomes you want the RIF to achieve.
Before initiating a RIF, you should ask and answer this critical question: Are there any alternatives to the RIF, such as a hiring freeze, reduced hours, or cutting expenses elsewhere?
Weigh the potential costs of the RIF; they could be much greater than you might expect. They include attorneys’ fees, unemployment claims, severance pay, diminished employee morale and productivity, potential litigation, the reduced quality of products and services, and customer and the community impacts.
Calculate the number of employees who will be displaced to meet the goals of the RIF. Put in writing the grounds for determining the number of positions to be eliminated in each department.
Determine whether or not there are any contractual commitments or employee benefit plans that would limit your options as an employer.
Encourage a voluntary RIF. Note that early retirement incentive plans (ERIPs) typically offer enhanced severance packages or retirement benefits to employees in exchange for a release of all claims against the employer.

Be aware, however, that such a plan may raise issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and existing tax laws. You have a fiduciary duty to your participating employees not to compromise the existing retirement plan.
Should an involuntary RIF become necessary, consider offering a severance package - in exchange for a release from the affected employees that complies with the waiver provision of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA). Review the OWPBA regulations carefully prior to offering such a severance package.
Review the criteria that outline which of the employees will be selected for layoff. These criteria should already be set out in your company’s human resource policies and procedures manual - and possibly in other collateral documents. To avoid Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) or Human Rights claims, utilize strictly objective criteria, such as seniority, lotteries, and measurements of production and performance quality.
Under certain conditions, you are required to give your employees advance notice if the RIF is a massive layoff or causes a plant closure. If you have 100 or more full- and/or full- and part-time employees, review and follow the requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

Remember that a legal and properly performed RIF still does not insulate an employer from liability in some circumstances. You should always consult a labor-law attorney, or a human-resources expert who is knowledgeable about these particular issues.

Mediating Anger Issues at Work
By Dr. Jane F. Cundy, CMN, RCC, CBC

Dr. Jane F. Cundy, President and CEO of The Business Connection, is a business advisor, troubleshooter, strategist, and certified international negotiator and mediator. Visit her website: www.thebusinessconnection.com or call her at 505-857-0101.

Many years ago, I worked in an environment where the bosses were so filled with anger that I didn’t know from day to day if I was on the right side or the wrong side of the boss—or the issue. Even more terrifying was that I never knew how I got there.

In the workplace, overt or unexpressed anger – from either managers or line staff – often leads to conflicts. The anger may be caused by problems on the job or at home; but no matter what causes it, anger is a powerful emotion - and it has a profoundly negative effect on morale and productivity.

Usually, workplace conflicts can be dealt with successfully through mediation by a third, neutral party. If you find yourself in this role, be aware that your efforts can be short-circuited if you don’t know how to deal with the anger effectively.

Here are ten tips to help you deal with anger and maintain relationships with your co-workers:

Set behavior guidelines at the beginning. When I preside at either a mediation or negotiation, there are rules that apply, and we set them at the beginning. These rules include maintaining respect for each other - no name-calling – and only one person may speak at a time.
No one gets to be wrong. This is the “cardinal rule” in negotiating or mediating for best results. If no one is wrong, which means that someone just has a different view of the situation than you do, it is much easier to remain calm and not resort to anger. After all, wouldn’t it be boring if we all had the same viewpoint? It is “OK” to be different!
Maintain your cool! This is a good strategy no matter what situation you’re in. When an issue has “gotten under your skin,” so to speak, it is usually because you have strong feelings about it. A productive way to maintain your cool and not get angry is to stop for a second, count to ten, take a deep breath and maintain a very logical, unemotional attitude about the issue. Remember that when an aggrieved party is speaking, he/she is expressing his/her viewpoint and not yours.
Make an appointment. If you’re working with a colleague who is angry with his/her boss or a loved one, suggest that he or she make an appointment to speak with the person with whom they have an issue. This will put an end to “reactive communication.”
Write it all down. It is also beneficial for the aggrieved party to write down what it is that bothers him or her, along with some useful suggestions about how to resolve the situation or the issue. Working from a “solutions” position is always more beneficial than just airing differences.
Keep the “issues” separated from the “person.” Most of the time the difficulty is not “personal.” The anger develops as the result of a behavior, or a lack of behavior. It is very important to separate the two.
Anger is always about a lack of communication. A good way to improve communication is to ask questions. The more you know about what it is that makes the situation or issue important and/or bothersome to the other person, the easier it becomes to resolve it.
Don’t “need to be right.” We must understand that miscommunication, or lack of communication, is always about needing to be right. Take away the need to be right, and the opportunity for resolution increases exponentially.
Remember the power of kindness. The more that you can place your attention on understanding the other person, the greater is the chance for mutual resolution. Mediation is about communications. Great communications can lead to mutual resolution, no matter how complicated the issue or situation seemed to be at the beginning.
Be a resource for excellence and integrity: maintain a code of ethics. Two of the most important actions that you can take are to do all that you agreed to do, and to perform at your highest possible level.

These tools and tips are what master negotiators and mediators use in local, national or even international situations. If you employ these techniques - whether you are negotiating for a raise in pay, a better client/coach relationship, or an improvement in your marriage – you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Rescuing New Mexico from Medical Insecurity
By Jane Blume, Bill Swift and Phil Tubbiolo

This article was originally published on the first page of the “Insight and Opinion” section of the Albuquerque Tribune, April 17, 2002.

“…excellent job on the cover piece.” – Jack Ehn, Editorial Page Editor, Albuquerque Tribune.

A recent news article reported that Dennis Cox, Executive Director of Southwest Medical Associates, sent a letter to Senator Pete Domenici containing an alarming prediction: that reduced Medicare reimbursement rates, reflected in new contracts that HMOs will soon be signing with physicians, might well lead to a large exodus of doctors from the state by the third or fourth quarter of this year.

It is clear that we have reached the point where we are even more medically insecure in New Mexico than we were in the early nineties. Managed care, the promised solution to our health care crisis, has failed to deliver. The situation looks more and more dire:

About 25% of the population – mostly working people and their dependents - is medically insecure. They have no medical insurance because they and/or their employers cannot afford it. New Mexico has thousands of small businesses, and insurance companies consider small employee groups a higher risk. That is the major reason why “small” employers pay higher premiums than larger employers do.

An approximate additional 20% of the population is medically insecure because they are “underinsured”; and a significant medical event could lead to financial ruin.

Even individuals who have insurance suffer from medical insecurity because:

They are increasingly limited in their choices of doctors, hospitals and pharmacists;
Premiums are going up dramatically for employers and employees. In January, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce reported that rising costs of health-care insurance was the Number One concern of their members;
Private health insurance plans are making health decisions behind closed doors;
Co-payments are rising, and the cost of prescription drugs is skyrocketing;
Benefits can be decreased or eliminated at any time; and --
People can be forced to change plans or providers without their consent.

Doctors are medically and financially insecure – not only because the reimbursements they receive from Medicare and Medicaid barely cover the costs of practicing medicine, but also because the HMOs determine reimbursement levels without their input. In addition, any of their patients can be required to switch to another provider if the employer changes medical plans. Furthermore, providers and their staffs spend many hours – and precious financial resources - on paperwork and phone calls because treatment decisions are based on time-consuming plan approvals and limiting drug formularies.

Rural New Mexico is medically insecure because the health care situation is deteriorating there. Community hospitals are in financial trouble, squeezed by managed care plans. The Roswell, Las Vegas, and Deming hospitals, and Los Alamos Medical Center, are among those that have already been sold, or are in the process of being sold, to out-of-state companies. People in managed care plans in such places as Deming and Portales are often forced to drive to Albuquerque for hospitalization and specialist visits, far from their hometowns and important support systems.

All of us are medically insecure because we are losing medical expertise: veteran physicians are leaving the state or retiring early, and are being replaced by less experienced colleagues. There is even a shortage of physicians in some specialties, such as neurosurgery. As we mentioned above, the physician exodus could accelerate dramatically towards the end of this year.

Currently, our insured population is “segregated”: the poor and the aged, which are at higher risk for illness to begin with, are under different insurance systems – Medicaid and Medicare, respectively. Because we keep these vulnerable groups separated from the general and healthier population, their taxpayer funded insurance plans incur ever-increasing costs.

Moreover, New Mexicans who are insured by the private market are separated into numerous risk pools. Lovelace and Presbyterian alone each offer over one hundred different types of insurance policies. We all pay for the administrative overhead required under such a segmented system. It does not make sense for a poor state like New Mexico, with limited health care dollars and a small population, to have so many health risk pools.

“Band-aid” solutions (such as expanding Medicaid to cover children, Medicaid managed care, and a health insurance alliance for small businesses) are not the answer. It increasingly looks as though reform of the whole health care system is needed so that all New Mexicans can be covered.

More than 110 organizations are responding to this challenge by co-sponsoring “Healing Health Care in New Mexico,” a statewide summit on winning affordable, accountable, accessible health care for all New Mexicans. The summit, which is free of charge to all participants and has received funding from The Daniels Fund and the LANL Foundation, will be held in Albuquerque on Saturday, April 20 at Sandia Preparatory School.

Summit organizers believe that access to affordable, high quality health care is a basic human right, and they are bringing together people from all over the state with diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. These individuals will be encouraged and inspired to move from dissatisfaction with the current system towards taking effective action to create a health care system that will cover all New Mexicans.

We anticipate that by the end of the summit, the attendees may elect to participate in one of two broad courses of action: to educate our elected officials and the public about the need for a system of Universal Health Care in New Mexico (and/or nationwide), or to join the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, whose work will be described at the event.

The Campaign is working on legislation to create The New Mexico Health Plan, which will return to the idea of “old-fashioned” health insurance, where all eligible New Mexicans would be together in one “risk pool.” This will keep costs and cost increases at reasonable levels. All health care providers would be reimbursed from one dedicated statewide fund, monies for which would come from government sources (such as Medicaid and Medicare), and premiums (with caps) paid by individuals and employers. All Plan members would be guaranteed the ability to choose their health care providers regardless of their age, employment and health status, or where they live in the state. All decisions about the Plan would be made in a publicly accountable process that is transparent to all.

The summit has attracted two nationally recognized keynote speakers in the field of universal health care, Dr. Steffie Woolhandler and John Dieffenbacher-Krall, who will share their knowledge and experiences with the participants. Dr. Woolhandler is co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, who teaches and practices medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Hospital. Mr. Dieffenbacher-Krall is co-director of the Maine People’s Alliance, which recently led a successful campaign in Maine that won a mandate from the state legislature to develop a statewide, single-payer health care plan by December of this year.

“Healing Health Care in New Mexico” will be a unique opportunity for like-minded people to join together to take action for systemic reform of our health care system. Although the event is free, seating is limited, and interested persons should register in advance by calling Health Action New Mexico, 342-8081.

Jane Blume, Bill Swift and Phil Tubbiolo were members of the “Healing Health Care in New Mexico” summit planning committee.

A “Learning Community” Can Transform Even the Smallest Organization
By Deborah Weaver Parker, President & CEO
Dynamic Growth Strategies, Inc.

Dynamic Growth Strategies, Inc. helps businesses and non-profits with strategic planning, operations design, customer and employee needs assessments, performance management systems development, corporate communication (graphic design & corporate identity), and administrative support services (including association management). President and CEO Deborah Weaver Parker has 25 years of experience as an educator, program developer, planner and consultant. She spent 16 of those years in higher education, and has extensive experience creating learning environments built around the needs of adults. You may reach her by calling 505-872-0174. This article was originally published in the March 1-7, 2002 issue of New Mexico Business Weekly.

Businesses and non-profits that want to grow “to the next level” often discover that they will have to redesign their policies, strategies and systems. They can do this if they are willing to transform themselves from rigid, hierarchical entities into flexible “learning organizations.” Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, defines a learning organization as one “where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.”

A learning community consists of a group of diverse people who are involved in improving their ability to create a future of their own design. A facilitator usually coaches the group, helping them to build their capacity to learn and grow by teaching them the tools that will help them to create this future. Rather than presenting training seminars and then leaving the team alone to apply them, the facilitator guides the teams through the application of the tools so that they are learning by doing. The ultimate aim is to build the capacity of a learning community to continue planning and creating its own future after the facilitator leaves.

In our experience, this process completely transforms an organization, allowing it to achieve sustainable, high levels of growth. The systems that the learning community develops are indeed learning systems, providing members of the group with clear goals and feedback so that they can adjust their processes continuously to achieve their goals.

Firms that have 30 employees or more, who work in multiple sites or in multiple departments, have grown beyond the owner’s capacity to manage all aspects of the business on a day-to-day basis. Because of their size, these firms can create learning communities among their employees and managers. Workforces that are learning communities study and grow together - whether the employees are functioning in teams or on their own. They carry the discussions from their team meetings into the work place, and gather the input and ideas of staff people who are not involved on that team. This means that the employees are able to try out ideas and discuss the outcomes together before decisions are made.

Unfortunately, very small businesses and individual entrepreneurs do not have a sufficient number of employees or managers to create such a community within their firms. They do not enjoy the benefits of continuous feedback and exchange of ideas, and cannot sustain their learning and growth in isolation. Fortunately, there is a solution: if a business owner is willing to join a group of like-minded, but non-competing colleagues, he or she can become part of a learning community, too.

Ideally, each community would consist of owners of six to eight firms that have been in business for approximately five years and have fewer than 10 employees. The owners would commit themselves to working together for several months, attending joint planning and educational meetings, and completing several hours of work on their firms between each session. A facilitator would help the group develop its own direction and goals.

Some areas the business owners might wish to work on include improving their firms’ competitive positions in the marketplace or their customer service, developing a strategic plan, or managing their operations or their supplier relations. The outcome might be a marketing plan, a strategic plan, a customer service or supplier management plan, a company operations manual, or even a New Mexico Quality Award application.

We know that small business owners are hungry for opportunities to interact with others in the same stage of business growth. While networking and business support meetings are very well attended in Albuquerque, and there are many services available to start-up businesses, there are few services for very small businesses that have achieved success and are ready to go to the next level. A learning community for the owners of these firms could fill this gap, providing an opportunity to engage in collaborative learning through interaction and shared inquiry.

Letter to the Editor - Ethics
By Jane Blume

This article was originally published in the February 28, 2002 edition of the Albuquerque Journal's "Business Outlook" section.

The news about Arthur Andersen and Co.’s role in the Enron debacle has the potential to have a negative impact on the management-consulting profession.

I am a member of IMC USA, the professional association for individual management consultants in this country, which has been certifying the independence and experience of management consultants since 1969. IMC USA is also a member of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, which represents institutes of management consultants in 32 countries.

An international Code of Ethics and Independence binds the 25,000 consultants who are members of these institutes. Over 10,000 of these members have also passed the Certified Management Consultant examinations in their countries.

Reacting to the news about Enron, IMC USA’s Board Chairman, Michael Shays, wrote to our members recently, “The ethics and standards established by the Institute assure clients that the advice given by members and certified members is independent.”

He also wrote, “… the Enron scandal is about greed, about deception, about auditing. It is not about consulting. There is nothing in the press about consultants compromising their independence because of the audit fee; rather it is the other way around.”

"In the global world where change comes so suddenly, and the impact of only one unethical decision or event can be overwhelmingly disastrous for so many, all advisors to management - management consultants and other professionals - must practice complete independence of thought and action.

"For consultants to management to represent themselves as objective outside experts or facilitators of change, they must exercise the professional and financial freedom to reject or withdraw from assignments where they are not able to effect solutions in the interest of their client, or where they find a client deliberately practicing unethical, immoral or illegitimate behavior.

"Independence is the foundation of consulting to management. It requires freedom from management pressures to represent, refer, or recommend services or products of their parent or affiliate organizations. Independence means standing apart from self-serving motives and telling the truth - facing clients with hard facts about the right things to do -and knowing when to withdraw from a conflict of interest. To practice otherwise is a disservice to the client and its stakeholders.”

Ever since I joined IMC USA, I had thought that our Code of Ethics and Independence was an important guide for all of us. Even though Mr. Shays believes that the Enron scandal is really not about consulting, with Enron and Arthur Andersen in the news almost daily, for me the Code assumes more relevance than ever before.

When the Going Gets Tough: The Road Back to Stability and Profitability
By Sandra L. Cody and Rick Draker, Resources for Excellence, Inc.

Sandra L. Cody and Rick Draker are President and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, of Resources for Excellence, Inc., a management-consulting firm working with businesses, non-profits and government agencies on best practices to develop effective people and processes, attain efficient performance and build growing profits. Telephone: 505-323-1415. The firm’s website is www.resourcesforexcellence.com. This article was originally published in the January 18-24, 2002 issue of New Mexico Business Weekly.

The recent collapse of the energy giant Enron is a painful reminder that organizations of any size can get into trouble. The difficulties that a business or non-profit may experience can take many forms; they include declining revenues, loss of customers or clients, increasing costs, low employee morale, and slow response in providing a product or a service.

How does an organization begin the process of getting out of trouble? The key first step is that the owners and/or managers must recognize that there is a problem, that it did not develop overnight, and that there is no single cause for it. The “single cause” theory may be the most obvious or most irritating, but it is usually symptomatic of some broader based and more deeply rooted problem or set of problems.

The second step to take is to review your business and strategic plans. Have you been following them? If you haven’t, or don’t have such plans at all, this could be a major contributor to your problem.

The third step is to clearly define the scope of the problem. To do this effectively, you must assess your entire organization – and not skimp on this analysis. It is the most important piece of your problem solving - and if done properly - will lead to sound decision-making. Examine all systems, all processes, all departments, programs, services and product lines. Break down all of your business operations into their component parts, examine each component in detail, and analyze how each one relates to the other components in the process. Don’t forget to look outward as well as inward: evaluate what and how your competitors are doing and survey your customers.

Don’t forget about your employees: it is vital that you bring them into the process. After all, this is their business, too, and they know a great deal about it. Many – if not all – of them know what the problems are, and probably have some very good ideas about how to solve them. If you involve them from the very beginning, they will also “buy into” the solutions and help fix the problems with enthusiasm and determination.

Once you have figured out what the issues are, the fourth step is to prioritize them. Some problem areas will be amenable to a quick fix, while other solutions will have to be phased in over time.

What are some specific actions you can take to deal with specific problems?

Expenses outstripping revenues
Are your expenditures are out of line with your revenues? If so, then you must examine possible cost-cutting measures. While reducing staff or freezing wages may be tempting, take a close look at your daily, weekly, monthly and annual operating costs first.

Analyze how you use your telephones. Can you cut local and long-distance telephone charges with a different plan or another carrier? Look at your firm’s system of purchasing supplies. Are you taking advantage of volume discounts? If you share a building with other businesses, ask if they want to participate in a joint purchasing program. Can you defer any proposed equipment purchases for another quarter, another year, or indefinitely? Get rid of your company credit cards. They are just too convenient and tend to be over-used. Create a purchase order system or a pre-approved expenditure plan. You will be surprised at how much money can be saved.

Revisit your insurance and employee-benefit plans. Even if your policies are not up for renewal for six months or more, start shopping around now. Keep your property and equipment inventory up to date. Be sure that equipment you have disposed of is not still being insured. If you are renting your space, talk with your landlord about the possibility of a temporary rent reduction, or even a short-term abatement of rent until conditions improve for your business.

Finally, look at planned wage/salary increases; they may have to be deferred for the foreseeable future. Explain this freeze to your staff in an honest and forthright manner. Most employees will understand the situation, will appreciate being able to keep their jobs, and will be more accepting of pay freezes or even pay cuts than cuts in benefits. Try to avoid taking that latter step unless your “back is up against the wall.”

Employee productivity and morale
If you discover that employee productivity is an issue, and that this problem is related to employee morale, then it is all the more reason to make the employees part of the decision making and the problem solving process. We suggest that you apply the processes of Total Quality Management (TQM). Total Quality Management addresses the challenge of bettering performance by continuously improving processes, cutting costs, and increasing output. These changes mean going beyond the traditional management systems and creating a culture (an attitude that accepts and implements continuous improvement) that focuses on and involves both a company's internal and external stakeholders.

When applied properly and consistently, TQM works very well. Just ask the Ford Motor Company, which used TQM to pull itself out of a deep financial hole two decades ago.

Loss of customers and market share
If you have lost customers and market share, then it becomes critical to find out why. Survey your customers and look at what your competitors are up to. Why have your customers left you? Have your competitors introduced new products and services, or reduced their prices? Have they responded to changes in your industry or the economy that you have ignored? Have they embarked on new marketing or PR efforts that have brought them recognition? If so, then you will have to do some rethinking. Even in tough economic times, you must find ways to “keep your name out there” so that when the economy improves, your customers will have you in mind.

Don’t forget your plan
Revisit your business or strategic plan. If it is still as valid as it was before, then follow it. Remember, it is not cast in stone and can be modified as circumstance warrant. If you don’t have a plan, develop one now.

While many companies are capable of solving their difficulties “from the inside,” many find that they are too immersed in day-to-day operations to work on the issues that confront them. Don’t be afraid to ask for outside help. There are many competent specialists with the experience and skills to look at your problems objectively. The most important thing to remember is not to wait. If you discover that you are getting into trouble, act quickly. Enron’s fate is a good example of ignoring problems until they become overwhelming.

Top Ten Ways to Make Your Business Grow in 2002
By Dr. Jane F. Cundy, CMN, CBC, RCC

Dr. Jane F. Cundy, Certified Master Negotiator, Certified Business Coach and Registered Corporate Coach, is CEO of The Business Connection (formerly known as The Rainbow Connection). Her firm consults with its client companies on strategy, operations, hiring for longevity and productivity, growing revenue, and developing management and staff; and also provides mediation services for internal or external conflicts, and negotiation services for a variety of issues - including mergers and acquisitions. For more information call 505-857-0101.

With the nation moving deeper into a recession, it is time to take a serious look at what it is going to take to make it in 2002. It is great to have interest rates as low as five percent, but this usually means that businesses are falling by the wayside and customers are not dipping into their pockets, but seemingly sewing them shut.

Times are scary, and the first reaction most of us have is to move into fear. Moving into fear is what the government has been telling us is exactly the wrong thing to do. Moving into fear is a self-defeating position, and certainly one that will catapult you and your business into bankruptcy faster than almost anything else. Moving into fear means that you terminate spending, halt hiring and are otherwise pulling way back.

These moves can absolutely be the wrong things to do if you want your business to succeed and grow.

Here are ten of the most important things that you can do to build your business in a recession economy:

Sales training for your sales staff: It is in times like these that building relationships, and learning just what persuades your clients to buy, need to be honed.
Customer service: If you believe that you provide good customer service, it is time to sharpen those skills. Customers and clients need to be heard, and more than ever need to believe that you care about them as people, and not just a source of revenue.
Work your business: Many business owners are so busy “doing” their business that they forget to work on the business! Spend time every week (at least an hour) working on your business with your managers or others who are empowered to make decisions for your company.
Listen: As you spend time meeting with those employees and managers who are working in the trenches, listen to their ideas - whatever the issue. There are no "bad ideas"; perhaps your firm's priorities need to be revised, or the timing to take certain actions is not quite right, or your focus needs to be re-adjusted.
Hire a coach: Today’s successful business owners and corporate executives have a coach in their corner helping them to get where they choose to go and holding them accountable on a weekly basis to get there. All of the big corporations have incorporated coaches into their management structures to build successful teams, empower employees and create genius among the ranks.
Create a clear vision statement: Create a vision of where you choose to be because you love it, not because you think that you should be there or have it. Make it so compelling that it becomes what drives you.
WHY?: If you are unclear about why you are choosing to go there or have it, it will be impossible to get there. Clarity becomes the impetus or heat that fuels your journey.
Embrace fear: And “do it” anyway! President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Make friends with fear and it loses its punch.
Develop a firm personal foundation: The more you are clear about who you are and what you are choosing, the more important it is to stand firm in that picture. You made friends with what you feared; now make friends with yourself.
Be in the present: Know where you are and move in bite-sized steps toward where you want to be. Honor the fact that you have come this far, and by taking your next steps in manageable chunks, it will be easier to track your progress as well as identify when you are off track.

As important as these steps are to moving forward in your business, of equal importance is to have a deep reserve of true friends supporting you and your journey. Those who cannot see your vision, or may hold a belief that you will not make it, are people whom you do not want in your arena. Share yourself with those who can and will cheer you on. Finally, the most important thing of all is, “Remember to be kind to yourself!”

Looking Beyond the Walls of Conflict
By Dr. Jane F. Cundy, CMN, CBC, RCC

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, much has changed in our country. Many people are rethinking their lives and their business and personal relationships, and we can imagine that there will be a lot of negotiations over these issues now and in the foreseeable future.

Negotiation is both an art and a science. It can be described as the art and science of behavior and finance. Whether you are selling a house, closing a business deal, settling a divorce, arbitrating a labor dispute or trying to hammer out an international treaty, resolution can only take place when you can see and get beyond the walls of conflict. With over 140 different and specific negotiating techniques available, it can be almost impossible for “lay people” to come to resolution without “giving the farm away.”

In any negotiation situation, the reaction of either party is drastically affected by the state of his or her counterpart “across the table.” The demands of the seller can be so great that they set up a chain reaction of events, causing the buyer to walk away - or the seller to lose the opportunity to present valuable conditions that may have been critical to his/her case. In these situations it is prudent for the seller and the buyer to understand just what concessions they are willing to make to come to a win-win settlement: which means that both sides are able to walk away feeling good about the deal they just made.

In a recent situation in Wisconsin, a business owner wanted to merge his enterprise with one of his competitors and gain greater market share. The sellers happened to be in a family owned business, and they were contemplating retirement within the near future. Because the sellers were unfamiliar with all of the negotiable items important to the buyer initiating the merger, the negotiation collapsed. This failure translated into lost money—potentially many thousands of dollars— and lost market share. The parties had not used professional help to identify each other’s “hot buttons,” and this lack of knowledge caused the sellers to walk away. They were then left in a situation where they might not be able to find another buyer because there are no other similar firms within their geographic area.

Many business people who decide to negotiate for themselves often do not achieve the best possible results because they are not good planners. I have observed over the years that most of the business owners and leaders I have advised spend more time doing business than working on their businesses. The results often become apparent when it comes time to negotiate—whether it is a negotiation for salary, position or product. If the negotiator has not done his/her homework and built a convincing argument to the other side, I can promise that there will be unwanted gains and unwilling concessions.

Local, national and international news are filled with stories about these failures — which result in political crises, union and management disputes, strikes and ongoing labor negotiations, lost salaries, time and services - because one or the other side may not have been as prepared as they could have been to negotiate the best deal possible.

These failures can occur in any arena - from professional sports and education to manufacturing and the services industries—and it can happen even when both parties want mutual gains. They can’t break negative patterns because they haven’t been trained to do so: they do not have either the useable tools or guidelines necessary to see and get beyond the walls of conflict.

In your personal life, negotiations can involve such everyday situations as which car to buy and how much to pay for it, the best deal on a new home, or how to pay less and get more in almost any retail or wholesale situation. Here is an example:

Recently, a woman I know hired a professional negotiator to help her buy a new car. It was the first time in her 69 years that she was buying a new car with all of the extra features available, and she was very excited. The negotiator went with her to the dealership and - after much conversation - helped her save $5000 off the initial asking price.

When it came to the financing, more negotiation saved another $200. She ended up - even after the interest rate and the extended warranty were accounted for - paying $6,000 less than what the dealership was originally asking, and making a down payment of $4,000 less that she thought she would have to spend. She went home with the equivalent of $10,000 in her pocket — not in the dealer’s!

It is critical for any negotiator to be well prepared. A lack of preparation can result in substantial financial losses for the negotiating parties. Independent professional negotiators can be worth far more than their fees because they have been trained, they know what to bargain for, and have the skills to communicate effectively with their counterparts. In your personal or professional life, it might be well worth it to use such a skilled specialist and begin saving yourself or your company thousands—sometimes millions—of dollars, precious time, and a lot of aggravation.

Working Effectively with the Media requires Responsiveness, Patience and Savvy
By Jane Blume

This article was originally published in the November 2-8, 2001 edition of New Mexico Business Weekly.

A business reporter I know once told me that – more often than she would like – people in New Mexico do not return her telephone calls in a timely fashion, or at all. This situation, she said, occurs with companies of every size, even those that are “household names” with media-relations people on staff.

Why should you or your media-relations specialist speak to a reporter, anyway? The answer is, because you want your organization to enjoy the benefits of effective public relations.

“Public relations” can be defined as a variety of activities designed to influence public opinion about an organization, its products and services - and even ideas for that matter. If it’s your organization we’re talking about, then you want the audiences you communicate with (and there are quite a few of them) to think favorably about you.

You want your audiences to believe that you offer a better product or service than your competitors do, that you and the people around you are leaders and top experts in your field, and that you really care about the welfare of your customers and the community at large.

You want to build that “top of mind awareness” so that when it comes time to purchase the type of product or service you offer, potential customers will think of you first, and current clients will keep coming back and referring other buyers to you.

News coverage is an important part of your public relations efforts: if a third party, such as a newspaper, a magazine, or a TV or radio station reports something positive about you or your business, it helps to build your credibility and favorable opinion about what you have to offer.

Here are some tips to help you deal effectively with the news media in New Mexico, get your story before your audiences, and make it a win-win situation for everyone:

Return reporters’ phone calls immediately. When they call, reporters are usually on deadline. If you miss the deadline, you will miss the opportunity to get your story out.
Make it easy for the reporter to reach you – or someone else who is covering for you. There is nothing more frustrating for a reporter on deadline to call your office and receive an uninformative voicemail message, or find that no one is picking up the phone, that no one knows how to get in touch with you, or that there is no one else around to give the reporter the information that he or she is seeking.
Ask if the reporter is on deadline when you call to pitch a story. If they are, ask when there is a more convenient time to call them back. They will appreciate this courtesy.
Learn which reporter covers what “beat(s)”. If you send a release about real estate to a reporter who covers the high-tech industries, or a health-issues story to the business section, it will be thrown away. Even if you think you know who is covering your industry, always call to confirm. It isn’t unusual for a reporter to leave a publication or be transferred to a different beat.
Find out how the reporter or editor prefers to receive your press release. Most will accept email or faxes, but occasionally you will encounter one who still prefers to rely on “snail mail.”
Eliminate the jargon and write in plain English. Most reporters won’t understand the special language you use in your industry, and if they don’t, their readers certainly will not. And if a reporter can’t understand your press release, it will very likely end up in “the circular file.”
Put your contact information at the top of the release on the right side. Reporters are accustomed to looking for this information there, and they don’t have a lot of time – so make it easy for them to get in touch you.
Compose a headline that summarizes the most important information in the press release, and write a who-what-where-when-why sentence or two for the first paragraph. Reporters are inundated with hundreds – if not thousands – of press releases, emails and telephone calls each week. They need to be able to see at a glance what the story is about.
Make your press release easy for the reporter to scan quickly. Write short paragraphs with one-and-a-half to two spaces between each line. As mentioned above, reporters receive numerous communications on a daily basis. Make yours stand out from all the others.
Don’t call to ask if they received the release. It’s likely that they did; and if they think it’s important or relevant, they will use it. But it doesn’t hurt to follow up tactfully if a reporter commits to doing a story.
Thank the reporter for writing or broadcasting the story once it appears. Reporters and editors often get a lot of criticism. Your “thank you” will be appreciated and remembered.

In our state, the business press is generally supportive of the business community. They want us all to succeed – especially if we have a good story to tell. So why not take every opportunity to tell your story? Besides, as a practical matter, business reporters and editors need your news to fill up the many pages they print every week – so why not help them do their jobs, and do them well?

A Lesson from Furr's Demise: Don't Ignore the Human Factors
By Margrit and Russell Harris, StrataTeam, Inc.

Margrit and Russ Harris are the Principals of StrataTeam, Inc., an Albuquerque based consulting firm that specializes in helping financial-services companies, professional practices and small businesses build their leadership, management and sales teams. StrataTeam's telephone number is 505-228-8279.

Recent news reports about the demise of Furr's Supermarkets have indicated that family infighting had weakened the supermarket chain years before the financial problems actually began.

This unhappy situation is more common in family enterprises than we might think. According to the Website Kiplinger.com, 95% of American businesses (almost 13 million) are family owned. Of this 95%, only 35% survive past the first generation; and only 20% survive to the third generation.

Furthermore, only 28% of family owned businesses have developed some sort of succession plan. This fact is most disheartening, especially since two-thirds of family business owners "say they hope to pass on their enterprise to a relative…" [Eileen Glanton, Associated Press, July 6, 1999]

Local experts have told us that when they're asked to help a firm with succession planning, they spend considerable time making sure that all the financial and legal issues are resolved. And yet, the mortality rate of family owned businesses is still surprisingly high. Why is this so?

We believe that this low survival rate results from inadvertently ignoring the human factors when selecting someone to take over the reins. Often, the individual who is chosen plays a key role in the firm, or is the owner's son or daughter, but is not necessarily the best individual to run the enterprise at this current stage of its life.

Frequently, a parent instinctively knows that the his/her child will not make the best successor, but the child is named anyway - because the parent feels a certain obligation to this offspring, or because the parent's ego or fantasies get in the way of reason.

After several years of research and work with company management teams, we find that nine times out of ten it is the human factors - and not the technical issues - that lead to the demise of a team or a business. We have learned that family business owners who are engaged in selecting a successor must first and foremost take the emotion out of choosing the right person.

The candidates must be assessed objectively according to key human and business factors. We know that the data and rules provided by a CPA and an attorney are essential to making good business decisions. Similarly, important data and rules about the human factors are available to help assure that the right successor is chosen. Assessments and consultations with the necessary experts to cover all the bases are well worth the time and financial investment to assure the continued success of the enterprise.

Family-business owners may want to consider utilizing the following "Six Rules to Win" to help choose the "right" successor:

Rule #1: Vision

The successor's Vision for the company must build on - and therefore be compatible with - the one that has heretofore been at the core of the business.

Rule 2: Expertise

The successor must have the Expertise that the business needs now to realize the Vision.

Rule 3: Personality

The successor's Personality must fit with the organization's culture.

Rule 4: Leadership

The successor must possess the Leadership skills and demonstrate a Leadership style that will inspire the company's employees, customers, investors and Board of Directors.

Rule 5: Philosophy

The successor must have a business and personal Philosophy that is compatible with the former owner's and the existing business culture.

Rule 6: Work Style

The successor's Style of working must be similar to the current owner's to allow for a smooth transition.

When a family-business owner uses these six rules to evaluate a potential successor objectively, he or she acquires concrete data that quickly help determine whether or not the person being considered has the characteristics required to run the business successfully. The owner will be empowered to decide who is the most appropriate person to ensure the business' longevity, regardless of family ties. If the business is sold to an outsider, the proceeds can then be used to fulfill the dreams of family members.

The choice of an appropriate successor for a family owned business - or for any business, for that matter - must be based on facts, reason and logic, and not on emotion. The necessity of keeping emotion out of the picture is why physicians will not directly treat members of their own families, and why attorneys will not represent close family members in legal proceedings. They ask other competent professionals to take on the task.

For the sake of a firm's long-term survival, business owners might well be advised to do the same thing.

If you would like to speak with Jane about an article for your organization or company, please call 505.294.1976.

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