Letters.L.A. Care Prognosis Blue Cross of California would like to dispel a rumor addressed in Lawrence Darmiento's Aug. 7 article "Embattled L.A. Care Fending Off Rumors." Blue Cross has communicated on multiple occasions that the information that was published by the Healthcare Association of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, was pure speculation and was not based. On fact. For the record, Blue Cross of California has not and is not engaged in any discussions regarding a possible, takeover of L.A. Care Health Plan. As a major participant in the administration of benefits to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Medi-Cal recipients, it is our, obligation to discuss ways in which we can improve service and balance costs for the state and the thousands of enrollees who receive their benefits from Blue Cross. We hope this clarification brings an end, to the speculation and rumors on this issue. We feel that all third-party commentary, at best, has been misinformed and inappropriate. Blue Cross of California has enjoyed a strong working relationship with its Los Angeles County Medi-Cal Program and intends to remain a committed and participating plan partner in LA. Care Health Plan. We hope to continue to serve and reach out to as many eligible participants as possible, both now and in the future. John P. Monahan General Manager State Sponsored Programs Blue Cross of California Challenging Pay Calculation Graef Crystal's column ("Pay Scale," July 16) takes issue with the way that the AFL-CIO's Executive Paywatch Web site (paywatch.org) estimates the value of executive stock options, including the 3 million options given to General Electric's CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Jack Welch For the illustrator named Jack Welch, see Jack Welch (illustrator) John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. (born on November 19 1935 last year. By any measure, last year CEO pay continued to rise at the same time that stock prices were falling. General Electric shareholders were not immune to this phenomenon: At the same time General Electric's stock price fell in 2000, Jack Welch received a sizeable increase in his compensation. No matter which established method of evaluating stock option grants is used, promising too many stock options to executives is a waste of corporate assets and may contribute to the disconnect between CEO pay and performance. Companies, the media, compensation consultants and securities regulators use a variety of ways to measure the value of stock option executive compensation. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that companies estimate the value of stock options in their proxy statements either according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a Black-Scholes option pricing model option pricing model A mathematical formula for determining the price at which an option should trade. The model expresses the value of an option as a function of the value of the underlying asset, length of time until maturity, exercise price, yields on or a potential realizable value method. Graef Crystal's application of the Black-Scholes methodology estimates that Jack Welch's stock option award is worth $68 million. Executive Paywatch estimates his option grant to be worth $163 million using; our potential realizable value model. General Electric chooses to use a potential realizable value model and not a Black-Scholes model for reporting purposes in its proxy statement. General Electric estimates that Welch could realize $108 million at the 5 percent stock price appreciation level and $274 million at the 10 percent appreciation level over the life of the options. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times estimates the grant date value to be $79 million using their version of the Black-Scholes model. USA Today USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. estimates the potential value to be $163, million using the same methodology as Executive Paywatch. Executive Paywatch estimates the potential value of stock option grants by assuming a 10 percent appreciation in the stock price per year over seven years. Historically, stock prices at companies in the S&P 500 index have increased an average of 12 percent a year, and a typical executive stock option is held no more than seven years before being exercised. We believe that this model provides a simple and transparent methodology to estimate the' value of stock option grants based on information provided in company proxy statements. Bill Patterson Director, Office of Investment AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. What About Valet? The article ("A Luxury Gap," July 30) talks about numerous hotels in Los Angeles and the dearth of Five Star hotels. As the owner of the oldest valet parking valet parking n. Parking arrangements provided by a commercial establishment, such as a restaurant, whereby patrons leave their cars at the entrance and attendants park and retrieve them. Noun 1. company in Los Angeles, if not the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , I am amazed that nowhere in the article was valet parking mentioned. The majority of hotels have a parking department that is operated by an independent contractor A person who contracts to do work for another person according to his or her own processes and methods; the contractor is not subject to another's control except for what is specified in a mutually binding agreement for a specific job. . The reason for this is the highly specialized business of fluctuations in personnel due to banquet business, the high expense of liability insurance and the need to have qualified personnel at all times. Hotel management must be aware that the valet parking attendant or doorman is the first and last contact that a customer has with a hotel. Some of the hotels you mentioned, we are proud to say, are among our top accounts. Herb Citrin Chairman, Valet Parking Service Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. |
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