July Meeting Notice
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010  

Time: Breakfast Buffet 8:00 A.M. TO 9:00 A.M.
         Speakers 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.

Location: Allianz Life Insurance of North America 
               5701 Golden Hills Drive
               Golden Valley, MN 55416

               (Please park in the ramp, press buzzer and state that you are with MIFPA)

Directions: See MapQuest.com

Registration: Pre-registration is required by July 15^th. Please RSVP by email to Toni Mortensen or call her at (763) 553-6062 to reserve your spot; then download and complete the registration form.

First Topic: Insurance Fraud Fighting Efforts in Minnesota                       

Speaker: Mark Kulda, Vice President, Public Affairs
              Insurance Federation of Minnesota

The Insurance Federation of Minnesota (IFM) is a state trade association that represents primarily property casualty insurers in the state.  The IFM maintains an issue management team (IMT) that deals with insurance fraud. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the history of the statutes surrounding insurance fraud in Minnesota. Mark will discuss the IFM's fraud fighting efforts especially in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC). The DOC's Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention (DIFP) handles hundreds of fraud cases each year which has led to the prosecution of many individuals and allowed the return of millions of dollars in recovery and restitution for victims of insurance fraud. He’ll discuss trends in fraud prosecution and explain how to make the system more effective.

Mark Kulda is on his second stint with the Federation. From 1999-2002, he was Director of Communications at the IFM before being named Managing Editor at WCCO-TV in September of 2002. He rejoined the Federation in March of 2004, as Director of Public Affairs. He was promoted to Vice President of Public Affairs in July 2006. Mark has a Bachelor's Degree in broadcast management from Park University in Kansas City and a Master's Degree in public affairs from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Second Topic: Health Reform: A Health Plan Perspective                        

Speaker: Philip Stalboerger, Vice President for Policy and Legislative Affairs
              Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Phil Stalboerger represents Blue Cross on health care policy issues being discussed and debated at the local and national levels of government. He has advocated public policy positions for Blue Cross since joining the organization in 1999. Prior to Blue Cross, Phil was the legislative director at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He has also served as staff in the Minnesota Senate, including a position as Commerce Committee Administrator.

Stalboerger currently serves on the Health Policy Committee for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and is the 2010 Chair of the Minnesota Chamber Leadership Minnesota program.  He was recently Chair of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the policy committee for the Minnesota Council of Health Plans. Additionally, Stalboerger is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for the 360 Communities (formerly Community Action Council) in Burnsville, Minnesota.

Stalboerger holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota) and is a member of the Politics and Policy Alumni Chapter. He earned his Masters of Arts in Public Administration from Hamline University, St. Paul.