Self-Insurance Budgeting Under the Affordable Care Act (School District Conference)

Pamela W. Baker, CPA, CGFM

Partner

Barbacane Thornton & Company LLP

Ms. Pamela W. Baker, audit partner, is responsible for the firm’s development and administration of the nonprofit and governmental client base. She is a 1980 graduate of Lynchburg College and is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.

Ms. Baker has, for over thirty years, devoted her career to the governmental field. As a Virginia state auditor, she served on local government unit task force to implement a statewide uniform chart of accounts. Additionally, she was involved in the federally mandated pilot program for implementation of the Single Audit Act of 1984.

Ms. Baker successfully advanced to a supervisory level with the organization, responsible for supervising a six-person audit team conducting financial and compliance audits of major universities, hospitals and cities. Ms. Baker then relocated to a position in public accounting to a North Carolina firm with municipal and nonprofit clients. In her four-year tenure, she was responsible for standardizing the audit department, ensuring compliance with federal, state and local guidelines and for further development of a market niche in government and nonprofits. At the time of her resignation, Ms. Baker had successfully contracted with the county government, including all local municipalities. She successfully assisted the first municipality in the area to secure the Certificate of achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting issued by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Claudia J. Burchstead
Director
The Benecon Group

Claudia provides employee benefit consulting support and services to large group clients and brokers that work with The Benecon Group. She is responsible for the development of benefit strategies, funding alternatives and cost containment initiatives which meet the needs of prospective and existing clients. In the last few years she has focused almost exclusively on launching new private sector consortiums as well as growing Benecon's existing programs. Claudia is a Certified Worksite Wellness Specialist (C.W.W.S) by the National Wellness Institute. She is also active in community wellness serving on Lighten Up Lancaster County, a coalition focused on reducing obesity in Lancaster County, and is a memeber of The Hempfield School District Wellness Council.

Claudia has over 20 years of solid sales, marketing and management experience. Prior to joining Benecon, she was employed over a 10 year period with Aetna, holding positions in sales management, national accounts and broker relations. Claudia is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a dual major in Business and Economics.

Kelly M. Knight, Esq.
Vice President - Compliance Services
The Benecon Group

Ms. Knight originally joined Benecon as a Compliance Attorney, focusing primarily in the area of Health Care Reform. Prior to joining Benecon, Ms. Knight was engaged in the private practice of law for approximately 10 years. Ms. Knight works closely with the Compliance Department, to both educate groups in issues relating to employee benefits and to help keep them compliant with the ever-changing compliance requirements of various benefits laws. The Compliance Department also engages in contract review and drafting as well as policy development. A great deal of Ms. Knight’s work continues to be devoted to researching the various aspects of Health Care Reform and assisting employers in understanding and becoming compliant with its requirements. In addition, along with the entire Compliance Department, she assists groups in HIPAA compliance, ERISA, COBRA and other employee benefits, state and federal regulatory issues, including compliance with state insurance, IRS and DOL regulations.