Worcester Business Journal

INSIDE: Your guide to buying and selling a business Cliches to toss 'under the bus' 27 Five business phrases that have outworn their welcome in today's workplace. WBJ >> To Subscribe Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News June 8, 2015 Volume 26 Number 13 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 FAMILY BUSINESS A W A R D S C E N T R A L M A S S . 2015 From a hospital to a fitness club, we shine spotlights on five families and the businesses they run in Central Massachusetts. Read about them in our seventh annual salute to family businesses, starting on Page 12. Real estate is just one of many industries to explore the use of drones. Robust military use and a growing civilian following are helping to cement them into the culture and now into commerce. The sky's the limit (pun intended) when it comes to drone applications, with early adopt- ers in Central Massachusetts already capitalizing on them. For instance, it takes photographer Adam Metterville a few minutes to set up his drone for aerial photography and video and take to the sky. But that setup time can make all the difference in his final product. Metterville has been using a drone for nearly two years, and shooting promotional vid- eos and weddings for much longer. Nothing gets a viewer invested in a film A s Maribeth McCauley Lynch walked the property of one of her latest listings in Westborough, the Realtor looked up to see a hawk floating above the rolling four-acre site, envying the bird's view. That perspective, she concluded, could help sell the prop- erty. So, during a chance meeting with a local drone opera- tor, she jumped on the opportunity to meld an aerial video with still photos to help market the site. BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Drones take flight in business Unmanned aircraft vehicles finding commercial uses within Central Massachusetts >> Continued on Page 10 Feeling the heat of reform Uncertainty of ACA and other changes weighs on insurers, employers BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal S ince the time the Affordable Care Act was no more than a gleam in President Obama's eye, employers, consumers and insurers have been ask- ing how it will affect them. This year, all four big health insurance companies covering Central Massachusetts made reference to the landmark health care reform law in explaining why they lost money in the first quarter. And yet, five- years after the ACA was enacted, the ultimate effects of its new rules aren't very clear. Blue Cross Blue Shield of M a s s a c h u s e t t s reported a net loss of $41.8 million in the first quarter, while it paid $87 million in taxes and fees related to the ACA. But Allen Maltz, CFO for the state's largest health insurer, pointed out that what the numbers reflect mostly is that those costs must, by law, be accounted for in the first quarter. Later in the year, new revenues come in to cover the expenses. "So the fact that losses were reported by all of the insurers is not necessarily a harbinger for the whole year," Maltz said. "We're not concerned or nervous … a little closer to zero would have been better, but we're feeling just fine." The insurers were all hit by ACA- related charges last year as well, but by the end of the year, all four reported positive net incomes. Unlike Blue Cross, other insurers are a bit less sanguine about the financial scene, though not necessarily due to ACA-related fees. R. Scott Walker, CFO >> Continued on Page 22 R. Scott Walker, CFO of Fallon Health: Government cost- cutting has 'strained' some revenue. FOCUS Family Business Awards Q&A with Bob Fields of CommCreative, Framingham. Shop Talk 8 P H O T O S : C O U R T E S Y ; W O R C E S T E R B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L P H O T O I L L U S T R A T I O N

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