The Rising Cost of Benefits in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Rising Cost of Benefits in America - Essay Example Historical View Although the costs of healthcare have consistently risen over the last twenty years, the recent increases pale in comparison to tremendous spikes during the 1980s. According to Weatherly (2004), â€Å"[p]er capita health care spending increased by 156% from 1980 to 1990, while spending from 1990 to 2000 increased by less than half that amount† (p. 2). It seems strategies have changed today, from the 1980s, when employers absorbed a vast majority of cost increases. The recession of 1991 set employers back, yet health maintenance organizations (HMOs) had a stronger presence, providing economic relief to a certain extent. During that period, HMOs are reported as being a major factor in the decelerated rising costs. Today, employers are faced with a once more weakened economy and steep costs associated with providing benefits. The present difference is the extreme competition within many industries, which makes it hard for organizations to pass costs onto their cus tomers. Consequently, the employee responsibility is increasing, causing them to absorb more of the cost, reducing their overall income (Weatherly, 2004). ... Major consulting groups, the mass media, and healthcare experts have expressed similar research findings; according to Weatherly (2004), â€Å"health care costs are a critical or significant concern to the overwhelming majority of CEOs, Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) and other business leaders† (p. 2). Weatherly (2004) reports on surveys conducted among HR leaders and healthcare experts throughout the country, which convey a single ideology—employees and employers, when working together, can reduce the cost of healthcare. Specifically, â€Å"depending on the specific health care specialty area, between 83% and 96% of employers believe that employer and consumer decisions can have a significant or moderate impact on cost† (Weatherly, 2004, p. 2). Healthcare benefits have been the topic of heated discussion in recent months. Many Americans have voiced concern over the dire situation that the country is currently facing. Weatherly (2004) estimates organizatio ns spend $300 billion each year on providing health insurance for current employees, their dependents, and retired employees. Until 2011, a majority of employers did little to reduce benefit plan coverage and counteract the rising costs. As of 2004, plans offered by employers were relatively stable. Innovative benefit strategies and revamps of overall design were rare to non-existent (Weatherly, 2004). Innovative Strategies Recent reports by HR leaders to assist in offsetting the rapid increase in costs include premium cost shifting from employers to employees, raised deductibles, prescription programs (generic and mail-order), and increased cost-sharing with patients. As mentioned, healthcare costs are expected to climb another 8.9 percent in 2011 and experts expect annual increases into the near future

What was the impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Coursework

What was the impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - Coursework Example The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th, 1941 marked a turning point in American history, changing the political consensus on foreign policy in the nation and leading directly to the country’s entry into the largest and most destructive war in history. The first and most lasting consequence of the Pearl Harbor attack was the ending of the isolationist view of American foreign policy that had grown domestically in the electorate following WWI and the Great Depression. As Krzys Wasilewski writes in "American First in WWII," â€Å"On September 4, 1940, a law undergraduate, R. Douglas Stuart, Jr., founded the America First Committee (AFC), an organization that was to promote isolationism and warn the public against the horrors of Europe`s war. Soon he was joined by Lindbergh, Wood, Nye, and other experienced individuals who turned an obscure committee into a nationally recognized institution whose voice was heard all over the country. America was not the polic eman of the world, stated the AFC. Lindbergh, who became the organization`s most recognized member, said that the United States should invest its resources in defending itself, not other countries. ‘Shall we now give up the independence we have won, and crusade abroad in a utopian attempt to force our ideas on the rest of the world?’ asked Lindbergh, ‘or shall we use air power, and the other advances of modern warfare, to guard and strengthen the independence of our nation?’† (Wasilewski, 2008) ... (Lutton, 2002) Whether or not the war could have been avoided is a matter of historical debate, but what cannot be argued with are the direct consequences of the American entry into WWII following the Pearl Harbor attack, which unquestionably turned the tide of the conflict and led to the defeat of the fascist military regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, and the Emperor of Japan. I. The Loss of Human Life from Pearl Harbor and WWII: Modern history books paint an evil picture of the Nazi regime of Germany led by Adolph Hitler and the SS, portraying it as one of the most violent and hateful political regimes of all time. Knowing retrospectively the atrocities and genocide of the â€Å"Final Solution† or Holocaust that led to the deaths of over six million Jews in Europe in concentration camps, the public today believe overwhelmingly that World War II was a just war that stopped the threat of fascism globally and allowed the free, democratic societies led by America and Britain to triu mph ideologically, economically, and politically in the aftermath. Yet, the loss of life during WWII in both civilian and military populations makes it the most destructive and deadly conflict ever engaged in by humanity. The following chart lists the total number of casualties on both sides of the war: These statistics, gathered from a multiplicity of governmental and historical sources, suggest that the Axis powers lost approximately 6.5 million military deaths in WWII combined, in addition to nearly two million civilians. (WarChronicle, 2011) The Allied powers are estimated to have lost over 25 million civilians and 14 million soldiers collectively during WWII. (WarChronicle, 2011) While there is no way of knowing how the war could have been avoided or resolved peacefully, the