Professional Development of Nursing Professionals Max Points: 200 Details: Review the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report: “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” focusing on the following sections: Transforming Practice, Transforming Education, and Transforming Leadership. Homework help – Write a paper of 750-1,000 words about the impact on nursing of the […]
SUPPLEMENTAL CASE Controlling Employee Benefit Costs John DeCarlo is President and CEO of Quality Auto Parts, an automotive parts equipment manufacturer and supplier in the Southwest. The company was started by DeCarlo and his father in 1968 and now employs 812 people at four different sites. Revenues and profits increased steadily from 1968 until 1992. Both were down in 1992 and 1993. During the remainder of the 1990s, both were erratic as a result of the increased foreign competition in both the auto parts industry and the auto industry itself. From 20002003, revenues have been increasing, but profitability is decreasing for a number of reasons. DeCarlo recently met with his Vice President for Finance (David Schramm) and his Vice President for Human Resources (Harriet Poster) to determine how costs could be cut so the company could price its products more competitively, relative to foreign competitors. At this meeting, he learned that employee benefit costs had increased at approximately twice the rate of increase for wages alone (12 percent versus 6 percent yearly) from 1988 to 1998. In particular, the employee health insurance costs increased from $2,184 per employee per year in 1988 to $8,316 in 2003. DeCarlo expressed frustration at these increases and asked what could be done. Foster and Schramm invited DeCarlo to a meeting of health care providers, insurers, and employers scheduled for the following week. At this meeting, they learned that their problem was quite common and being experienced by most other corporations in the area. One consultant surveyed the chief human resources executives at Fortune 500 and Fortune Service 500 corporations and found “controlling employee benefit program costs” to be the most critical issue facing these executives. Another national survey found that health benefit costs amounted to a whopping 26 percent of corporate earnings. Moreover, health care costs have grown faster than overall inflation and faster than any other segment of the economy since 1990. They also learned more about the nature and causes of this problem. Many of the speakers at the conference cited large catastrophicillness claims, increased use of mental health and substance abuse services, increased use of medical services, hightechnology medicine, costshifting from government programs (Medicare and Medicaid) to private insurance, high physician fees, the AIDS crisis, the demographics of employees in the auto industry (i.e., a higher percentage of older employees), and recent premium increases by both traditional and managedcare plans attempting to recoup recent losses. One speaker noted: “If businesses in the private sector don’t make a profit, they are not going to exist. The continuing escalation of health care costs is threatening the very survival of some companies, particularly small companies. Smaller businesses increasingly bear the brunt of the spiraling costs because they have no one else to whom they can shift their costs.” Several possible solutions were discussed, although there was no consensus regarding their effectiveness or applicability to particular situations. Among the cost containment suggestions were self insurance, utilization review, managed care (i.e., health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations), wellness programs, flexible benefits, cost sharing (i.e., higher deductibles and co insurance), and insuring ambulatory alternatives to hospitalization. Many speakers emphasized that employers should not wait passively for the government to solve the problem because that was unlikely to happen any time soon. In addition, health care reform raises fundamental questions about societal priorities, and there is currently no consensus regarding these questions. Health care reform is not currently a top priority of the public, and there is a strong antitax sentiment. Consequently, there is little political will to take on such reform, particularly since the failure of the Clinton health reform proposals in 1994. When Congress has intervened, it has usually made the problem worse by mandates which raise costs for insurance companies and employers.The ChallengeDeCarlo came away from the conference with a greater appreciation of the complexity of the problem and a greater determination to do something about it. However, he wasn’t sure what to do. He viewed his company as a “preferred employer” because it had always paid above the market wage rates, and its benefits were always more liberal than those of other U.S. companies and particularly those of foreign competitors. DeCarlo did not want to do anything to jeopardize his company’s advantage in attracting and retaining highquality personnel. At the same time, he realized that if no changes were made, his health insurance premiums would be greater than his total projected earnings by the year 2008. Quality Auto Parts’s present health insurance plan (Blue CrossBlue Shield) is a traditional indemnity insurance plan. All employees have one plan which makes no effort to control the health care services provided. Employees select their own physicians and the insurance company pays reimbursement for whatever services are provided at whatever price the particular provider charges. Neither physicians […]
Unit 1, Global Marketing Assignment. Introduction: Many successful firms know that going global is an option they can’t ignore. However, the global game is not always easy to play. The smart marketer needs to think globally by setting its sights on diverse markets around the world, but act locally by being willing to adapt its […]
Mental Illness Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Introduction Mental illnesses produce some of the most challenging health problems faced by society, accounting for vast numbers of hospitalizations, handicaps bringing about billions in lost profitability, and strongly lifted dangers for suicide. Researchers have […]
Walden University NURS 6630 PM final 1 out of 1 points What will the PMHNP most likely prescribe to a patient with psychotic aggression who needs to manage the top-down cortical control and the excessive drive from striatal hyperactivity? 1 out of 1 points The PMHNP is selecting a medication treatment option for a […]
A Comparison of Key Models in Health Informatics As part of this course, you will be developing an evaluation plan based on an appropriate model. For this Assignment, you will examine in depth the four models introduced in this week’s Learning Resources (Technology Acceptance, Model Diffusion of Innovations, Disruptive Innovation, Sociotechnical Theory Models). By increasing […]
Assignment help – Discussion 1 Prior to engaging in this discussion, read Chapters 10 and 11 in your text as well as the “Steps for Effective Discharge Planning” article, and review any relevant Instructor Guidance. For this discussion, refer to the information in the “Introduction to the Miller Family” document. Select one of the family members below […]
Health care professionals must be able to review and evaluate the use of evidence in health care quality literature. This involves critical thinking skills and discernment, as well as a sound knowledge of the characteristics of quality measurement. To prepare for this Assignment help – Discussion: Identify one of the six dimensions of […]
The Petrakis Family Helen Petrakis is a 52-year-old heterosexual married female of Greek descent who says that she feels overwhelmed and “blue.” She came to our agency at the suggestion of a close friend who thought Helen would benefit from having a person who could listen. Although she is uncomfortable talking about her life […]
Application: Diabetes and Drug Treatments Diabetes is an endocrine system disorder that affects millions of children and adults (ADA, 2011). If left untreated, diabetic patients are at risk for several alterations including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, neuropathy, and blindness. There are various methods for treating diabetes, many of which include […]
