Economic Issues Simulation Paper Essay Example for Free

Economic Issues Simulation Paper Essay The Castor Collins health plan is a health maintenance program (HMO) that was found in 1999 and has grown over the years. The company provides health insurance coverage through a system that involves a network of physicians and hospitals. Castor Collins Heath Plan uses the capitation model to fund its large distributed group of physicians and health care organizations. Castor Collins currently provides health care coverage to 100,000 subscribers and would like to increase their enrollees. It is the responsibility of the Vice President along with his most trusted advisers, Helen Feuerman, Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Wilkes, Chief Medical Officer, and Adam Hunter, Executive Vice President, Planning and Development, to reach out to new clients; two in particular, E-Editors and Constructit. E-Editors The company E-Editors employs 1,600 individuals, 760 males and 840 females. The employee’s ages range from 35-54. Most of the employees with E-Editors are married so they will need to provide an affordable health care plan for their families. Looking at the kind of work involved for most of the employee’s, Castor Collins found that many of the individuals have a sedentary position. In fact, ninety-five percent of the employees at E-Editors have a position that requires long hours of sitting in front of a computer; the remaining five percent of the employees have positions that require physical activity. A thorough health screening was conducted by Castor Collins. Their findings were as followed, most of the employees who have sedentary positions had problems with their vision. Twenty two percent of the employees had no history of health issues. Twenty six percent of the employees are smokers, most of them revealing that they are considered heavy smokers, although none of employees that smoke reported any respiratory complications. The remaining forty- five percent of the employees are obese. Interestingly, the obesity is due to a sedentary job, poor eating habits, and little to no physical activity. These populations of employees are at risk for severe health complications and diseases. Constructit Constructit has 1,000 employees; 550 being male and 450 are females. The age group ranges from 26-42, and sixty percent of the employees are married. Fifty three percent of the employees have positions that require physical activity. Thirty-two percent of this group has high activity positions and twenty five percent have moderate activity positions. The remaining forty three percent of the employees have sedentary positions. The result from this groups health screening are as followed, thirty-eight percent of the employees have no preexisting health issues and are in good physical health. Ten percent of the employees are smokers. Thirty nine percent of the employees are considered obese, which is a high obesity rate. Some of the illnesses that were reported are digestive disorders, respiratory diseases, injuries, and allergies. Analysis of both groups It is Castor Collins job to find suitable health care plans that will benefit both companies, employees, and Castor Collins while keeping in mind to make it affordable and beneficial to all. They will need to evaluate the potential risks and assess the cost of premiums for both. All members of the team determined the best way for deciding would be best conducted by using the cost-benefit analysis system. â€Å"The cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a set of techniques for assisting in the making of decisions that translates all relevant concerns into market (dollar) terms† (Gertzen Allen, 2007). The team must first consider the age, gender, and profiles of all employees. Secondly, decide the potential health risks, calculate premium and profit. Thirdly, decide what services will be covered and co-payments for these health plans. When taking into consideration the different health profiles of all employees’ obesity seemed to be an issue for both. This alone makes the population at high risk for health issues associated with obesity such as; heart diseases, strokes, and diabetes. E-editors seem to have a higher percentage of obesity and smokers putting them at a much higher risk with health issues. Outcome After evaluating the cost and benefits that go along with providing health insurance coverage to both E-Editors and Constructit, Castor Collins financial team decided that they would only be able to provide health insurance coverage to Constructit and not E-Editors. The reason for this decision is E-Editors have a higher percentage of employees that are at risk for developing chronic diseases. The team went ahead and presented an offer to Constructit and their employees. Castor Collins can offer their employees the Castor Standard plan, which the premium to be charged will be $3,428.00. The reasoning behind choosing this plan over the Castor Enhanced and the Castor Enhanced Minor is the premiums for each employee would be significantly lower than the Enhanced and Enhance Minor plans even though each employee was willing to pay a maximum of $4,000 for their annual premium. Also, Castor Standard does not cover preexisting health conditions, so this would be a low risk investment. Preexisting conditions can cost a company thousands of dollars and in the end not be beneficial to the company’s profits. If Castor Collins were to contemplate preexisting conditions a much higher premium may have to be considered. This is an advantage that can help keep the annual premiums down and still provide many other health coverage services. The premiums that Castor Collins will charge the employees at Constructit are much lower than anticipated, which means a lower profit return. This group is considered a lower health risk group so increasing premiums could create a possibility to make greater returns, but the outcome is still fitting. Conclusion Many hours of planning and development were considered for the final decision of adding Constructit and not E-editors as a client. The team made this decision by utilizing the CBA method and determining that Constructit would be low risk to provide health coverage too. The plan that was chosen Castor Standard will have a lower return but in the long run be beneficial to Castor Collins. The employees at Constructit will be able to afford the health coverage plan and look towards the future knowing they are insured and covered for any emergencies without draining the wallet. Castor Collins and Constructit will begin a rewarding journey that will benefit both companies in the end. The team based this decision on considering all the  necessary health profiles, risks, and premiums and comparing all of the facts between both companies. Reference Getzen, T. E., Moore, J. (2007). Health Care Economics: Principles and tools for the Health Care Industry. Hoboken,, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Princes and Paupers Essay -- Wealth Poor Rich Economy Essays

Princes and Paupers Year by year the world becomes more sharply divided by two. On the one hand, there are the advanced, industrial, developed, with mature economics. And then there are the rest--developing, less developed, underdeveloped, undeveloped, and pre-industrial. The exact description is unimportant; for the basic division is, of course, one between the rich and the poor. What does it mean to be poor? It has always been advantageous to be born on the right side of the tracks. But the accident of birth has never had quite the significance that it holds today, for every child born to parents in the developed countries, seven are born in the underdeveloped world. This fact, above all else, will determine the course of their lives. The chances are that most of the seven children will be born, and brought up in poverty. Being born poor, the chances are that you will spend your life being hungry. This is not ordinary hunger as we may know it, but actual starvation and ill health brought on by lack of nutrition. Two-thirds of the world suffers from malnutrition, and thirty thousand children under five years of age die from malnutrition everyday. It is hard to imagine that within a twenty-four hour period we actually lose that many children. The total food resources in the world today would be perfectly adequate to feed everyone properly, unfortunately, there is an unfair distribution among nations and social groups. The United States is the net importer of food and agriculture from the rest of the world. While we make only five- percent of the worlds population, we import forty- percent of all beef traded, we buy one-third of all the fish and seafood and one-third of all dairy products. The overcompensation of... .... It costs only pennies a day and could make a tremendous difference in a child's life. Think about all of the small change that we spend everyday. The facts provided are not given to be critical of any one person or any particular Western country. Yet, they are facts, and are grim reality for so many disadvantaged people in these Third World countries. Instead of turning our backs on these individuals, we must start educating ourselves on the large gap that consist between the rich and the poor. They are trapped in a pattern of overlapping vicious circles. The people in these poor countries had no choice in where they would be born, but we do have a choice in trying to make a difference in their lives. We must remember that they are human beings just as we are, and have been put at a disadvantage and we in the West are in the position to lessen their suffering.

The Power of Language

Language is considered to be one of the most important components of culture since it is through language that human beings are able to communicate with each other.   However, there are many different languages for many different parts of the world.   This makes it hard for people from different parts of any culture with different language to communicate with each other.   Thus, studying or learning another’s language is as much a part of us as reading books is. Learning a new language is an integral part of becoming at home in a new or another country.   Stepping into another country or territory wherein another language is used, you feel as if you are the only person who can understand yourself.   You feel like an alien.   You feel alone. But when you finally learn the language, it makes you feel happy and satisfied, as if you have just received an award or finished the most difficult project you have encountered.   But your contentment doubles when you learn to use it effectively when communicating with other people.   You no longer feel alone.   You feel that, at last, someone understands what you are trying to say. Amy Tan’s article, Mother Tongue, talks about how her mother’s â€Å"broken† English finally led her to realize that the more important thing in learning a language is not speaking or writing it perfectly, with all the difficult words and grammatical correctness.   She realized that the more important thing is to speak or write a language wherein most people can understand it. When she wrote her novel The Joy Luck Club, she intended to use difficult words, phrases and metaphors because she thought this is how she can prove to most people that second-language learners do not just excel in sciences or mathematics wherein there is a common language use.   However, as she went on writing, she began to realize that she should think about the readers and how they would feel or think about her stories.   She envisioned that reader to be her mother. This is the point when she finally understands that she should â€Å"water down† the English she is using to make her mother understand what she was trying to say.   That is, it is more important to capture the essence of what her mother’s language ability cannot reveal — the intent, passion and imagery her mother was trying to get across. Tan summarizes her personal experience and feelings in learning English in her last paragraph in Mother Tongue: Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: â€Å"So easy to read.† (476) Another article that tells a story of how difficult it is to learn a new language is Malcolm X’s Coming to an Awareness of Language.   To Malcolm X, what makes it harder is to learn to communicate it to people effectively.   In this brief autobiography, he mentioned how he would write to hustlers, presidents, and people in the streets to communicate about Allah.   He gives speeches and talks in conferences.   One look from him and you’d think that he went to school and got beyond eighth grade.   But he attributes all his knowledge in the English language to his serving his time in prison. Malcom X tells how hard he tried to learn the English language.   All of his motivation to learn the English language came from his envy to Bimbi.   He tried to emulate him by conversing with him in English and reading books in English.   But then, he cannot understand most of the words and sentences in the books he picked.   He would skip the difficult words so he ended up not understanding what the book really said.   What he did is that he got hold of a dictionary and started to write everything each day from each page. This is how he learned not just new and difficult words but some history and facts as well.   Malcom X’s autobiography tries to tell us that no matter how hard it is to learn a new language (or just to learn something), it makes you feel satisfied and free after you know you have finally understood it. David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day also describes how he painstakingly learned a new language — the French language this time.   He enrolled in Alliance Francaise to study French only to discover that his teacher is, as he called it, a wild animal.   It was only the first day of class and he and his classmates were already grilled in using the French they knew about by telling about themselves in French. All of them were called to introduce themselves but not one of them was saved by the sadistic teacher who made fun of their French.   His fears and discomfort that he felt as a child all came running back to him as if he was being a kindergarten all over again.   But then, no matter how his teacher tried to insult his laziness, he would only be studying more. Learning a new language can be tricky and very difficult especially for first-timers.   There are times when, as Sedaris described, we would prefer to hide behind stores and cash registers and avoid asking trivial questions in another language.   But all this is learning.   Learning is, indeed hard and tricky, but when we finally learned, it is very satisfying.   In learning a new language, it is very satisfying in the sense that when we finally learned and mastered another language, we know that more people can understand us.   We feel gratified that we have earned the rewards of the hardships we have experienced.   And most of all, we feel a sense of belongingness. Works Cited Malcom X. â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of Language.† Sedaris, David. â€Å"Me Talk Pretty One Day.† 2000. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.† The Power of Language Language is considered to be one of the most important components of culture since it is through language that human beings are able to communicate with each other.   However, there are many different languages for many different parts of the world.   This makes it hard for people from different parts of any culture with different language to communicate with each other.   Thus, studying or learning another’s language is as much a part of us as reading books is. Learning a new language is an integral part of becoming at home in a new or another country.   Stepping into another country or territory wherein another language is used, you feel as if you are the only person who can understand yourself.   You feel like an alien.   You feel alone. But when you finally learn the language, it makes you feel happy and satisfied, as if you have just received an award or finished the most difficult project you have encountered.   But your contentment doubles when you learn to use it effectively when communicating with other people.   You no longer feel alone.   You feel that, at last, someone understands what you are trying to say. Amy Tan’s article, Mother Tongue, talks about how her mother’s â€Å"broken† English finally led her to realize that the more important thing in learning a language is not speaking or writing it perfectly, with all the difficult words and grammatical correctness.   She realized that the more important thing is to speak or write a language wherein most people can understand it. When she wrote her novel The Joy Luck Club, she intended to use difficult words, phrases and metaphors because she thought this is how she can prove to most people that second-language learners do not just excel in sciences or mathematics wherein there is a common language use.   However, as she went on writing, she began to realize that she should think about the readers and how they would feel or think about her stories.   She envisioned that reader to be her mother. This is the point when she finally understands that she should â€Å"water down† the English she is using to make her mother understand what she was trying to say.   That is, it is more important to capture the essence of what her mother’s language ability cannot reveal — the intent, passion and imagery her mother was trying to get across. Tan summarizes her personal experience and feelings in learning English in her last paragraph in Mother Tongue: Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: â€Å"So easy to read.† (476) Another article that tells a story of how difficult it is to learn a new language is Malcolm X’s Coming to an Awareness of Language.   To Malcolm X, what makes it harder is to learn to communicate it to people effectively.   In this brief autobiography, he mentioned how he would write to hustlers, presidents, and people in the streets to communicate about Allah.   He gives speeches and talks in conferences.   One look from him and you’d think that he went to school and got beyond eighth grade.   But he attributes all his knowledge in the English language to his serving his time in prison. Malcom X tells how hard he tried to learn the English language.   All of his motivation to learn the English language came from his envy to Bimbi.   He tried to emulate him by conversing with him in English and reading books in English.   But then, he cannot understand most of the words and sentences in the books he picked.   He would skip the difficult words so he ended up not understanding what the book really said.   What he did is that he got hold of a dictionary and started to write everything each day from each page. This is how he learned not just new and difficult words but some history and facts as well.   Malcom X’s autobiography tries to tell us that no matter how hard it is to learn a new language (or just to learn something), it makes you feel satisfied and free after you know you have finally understood it. David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day also describes how he painstakingly learned a new language — the French language this time.   He enrolled in Alliance Francaise to study French only to discover that his teacher is, as he called it, a wild animal.   It was only the first day of class and he and his classmates were already grilled in using the French they knew about by telling about themselves in French. All of them were called to introduce themselves but not one of them was saved by the sadistic teacher who made fun of their French.   His fears and discomfort that he felt as a child all came running back to him as if he was being a kindergarten all over again.   But then, no matter how his teacher tried to insult his laziness, he would only be studying more. Learning a new language can be tricky and very difficult especially for first-timers.   There are times when, as Sedaris described, we would prefer to hide behind stores and cash registers and avoid asking trivial questions in another language.   But all this is learning.   Learning is, indeed hard and tricky, but when we finally learned, it is very satisfying.   In learning a new language, it is very satisfying in the sense that when we finally learned and mastered another language, we know that more people can understand us.   We feel gratified that we have earned the rewards of the hardships we have experienced.   And most of all, we feel a sense of belongingness. Works Cited Malcom X. â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of Language.† Sedaris, David. â€Å"Me Talk Pretty One Day.† 2000. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.†

The Status of Women in Antigone by Sophocles and A Dolls...

Society is burdened with inherent flaws. From the times of antiquity to the modern age, social imbalances and power struggles have perpetually existed. One such inherent flaw is the differences in social expectations that exist between men and women. Even during the drafting of the constitution, a document designed exclusively for the protection of democracy and the assertion of equality is the premise of acknowledging man and woman as social equals ignored. Even today, women still face the challenges of their predecessors who had been mired in the â€Å"cult of domesticity† for countless centuries, adhering to the traditional values that their ancestors had feigned upon them. Republican politician, Faith Whittlesey argues that even in today’s relaxed social atmosphere, â€Å"In order for a woman to be considered equal to a man, she has to do even more than a man.† This rough assessment of women’s current social status although true for most cases, is not entirely concise. The Greek tragedy Antigone offers flawless support for Whittlesey’s assertion. When Creon discovers that Antigone has defied him by brazenly ignoring his orders, he ponders, â€Å"Breaking the given laws and boasting of it. Who is the man here? She or I, if this crime goes unpunished?†(Sophocles, 95) Due to Antigone’s perseverance and adamant will, she is able to overcome the overwhelming adversity she faced defying Creon, the king of Thebes, in order to accomplish her moral duty of burying her brother Polyneices inShow MoreRelated A Comparison of Antigone and A Dolls House Essay688 Words   |  3 PagesSimilarities in  Antigone and A Dolls House    Ibsens A Dolls House has been called the first modern play. The play was considered revolutionary because it broke several molds which had endured for centuries. Incredibly, much of what was considered revolutionary first appeared in Sophocles play, Antigone - one of the first plays in existence.    In merely looking at the surface, one notices right away that both plays are significant in that they avoid the social temptation ofRead More Comparison Between the Characters of Antigone and A Doll’s House1456 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Characters of Antigone and A Doll’s House   Ã‚  Ã‚   There have always been fundamental differences between the mentalities of the male and female sexes. At one time, women were considered as a possession of the father or husband. Women were denied participation in public life, they had restricted access to education, and they werent legally allowed to own property. This oppression of women did not prevent them from fighting for, and obtaining, equal rights.   It seems that women followed the lawsRead MoreEssay about Antingone and a Dolls House: a Mens Society1358 Words   |  6 Pagesin society, while women would be doing things thought unheard of before like working a career? In ancient Greece and pre-modern Norway authors began thinking up unthinkable situations for their times. These situations were based on questions very similar to these. These ideas were thought of as scary, fictional, and even comedic for their time. Gender roles in society are virtually thematic in the two stories A Dolls House and Antigone . A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen is a story aboutRead MoreComparison of A Dolls House and Antigone1248 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom ‘The Empowered Woman’ by Sonny Carroll In my mind, Sonny Carroll’s poem perfectly represents what an empowered woman should be; firm, determined and able to stand on her own feet. The characters of Nora and Antigone, from Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ and Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’ respectively, completely fit my description of ‘the empowered woman’. As inspiring figures, they left me wondering how they maintained their identities even in their patriarchal societies. What touched my heart theRead MoreEssay on A Character Comparison: Nora Vs. Antigone1842 Words   |  8 PagesA Character Comparison: Nora Vs. Antigone In the novels A Dolls House and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles respectively create two lead female characters, Nora and Antigone, who confront societys expectations of women in fundamentally different ways. Nora goes against the grain of middle class society by first forging her fathers signature and then deceiving her husband, Torvald, throughout their marriage; Antigone, on the other hand, openly challenges and defies the rule of men, including herRead MoreA Character Comparison: Nora vs. Antigone Essay1922 Words   |  8 PagesWorld Literature Paper I A Character Comparison: Nora Vs. Antigone In the novels A Dolls House and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles respectively create two lead female characters, Nora and Antigone, who confront societys expectations of women in fundamentally different ways. Nora goes against the grain of middle class society by first forging her fathers signature and then deceiving her husband, Torvald, throughout their marriage; Antigone, on the other hand, openly challenges and defies the ruleRead MoreA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 PagesLiterature January 14, 2012 A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen Translated by Rolf Fjelde I. Introduction During the late nineteenth century, women were enslaved in their gender roles and certain restrictions were enforced on them by a male dominant culture. Every woman was raised believing that they had neither self-control nor self-government but that they must yield to the control of a stronger gender. John Stuart Mill wrote in his essay, â€Å"The Subjection of Women†, that women were, â€Å"wholly under the role