Benefits And Benefits Of Employee Benefits

In 2010, the United States created The Affordable Care Act (ACA). The objective was to share the responsibility of costs between the government, individuals, and employers to provide affordable access to quality health insurance. “However, health coverage remains fragmented, with numerous private and public sources, as well as wide gaps in insured rates across the U.S. population.” (“United States: International Health Care System Profiles,” n.d.). Each individual state within the US, generally has control over private insurance.

There are providers, of public hospitals community and rural health centers, and local health department considered to be safety net providers that service the uninsured. But the result of increased demand has caused limited capacity and decreased treatment options due to eroding finances (KFF, 2013). In order to improve the well beings of Americans, it is imperative to establish a health care policy that will deliver comprehensive coverage for all.

One of this health care’s programs objective is to limit the number of uninsured (Shi & Singh, 2015). This controversial healthcare plan incorporates a privately funded insurance which is paid for through employment and solely by the patient and a publicly funded insurance by the government. Medicare is provided for senior citizens 65 and older, and Medicaid is provided for low income citizens. The federal government and state government both partake in the funding of Medicaid. Although insurance is provided to the low income through Medicaid, the United States continues to suffer from cost escalation spending 17.1 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2013, a 50 percent more than the second nation (Commonwealth, n.d.) The high cost and limited coverage continues to spark up the conversation for a

It has been recognized that ever since its passage into law the Affordable Care Act frequently known as Obamacare has and will continue to attract criticism and scrutiny. This is the America`s major and mainly well-liked social indemnity programs. Despite the fact the Affordable Care Act is a highly multifaceted piece of legislation featuring many regulatory and intergovernmental provisions meant to deal with lack of health insurance coverage affecting a variety of diverse groups, Medicare and social security are much more focused programs providing benefits primarily to the aged. Social security and Medicare were in the beginning implemented more without difficulty and with a little of bipartisan support, because in 1935 and 1965 democrats

Notably, the elderly populace is growing rapidly, and will reach 3.4 million or 12.8% of the population. Eventually, in the next thirty years older adults will comprise of 20% of the total population due to the aging of 76 million baby boomers (Olson, 2001). Seeing that, entitlement programs and means-tested benefits, are presented, in order to bolster this increment of older adults. Accordingly, around 96% of the American workforce is secured by Social Security and it is likewise estimated that 58 million American will receive a total of $816 billion in Social Security benefits (Moody and Sasser, 2015). In fact, today 56 million or 17% of the population is enlisted in Medicare (Leonard, 2015). Therefore, this has presented an open deliberation about the eventual fate of Medicare and Social Security and regardless of whether changing Medicare and Social Security to means-tested benefits, instead of entitlement programs can resolve the policy issues.

Employee benefits could be improved by expanding the employee assistance program to include counseling services to help employees work through various life challenges that may adversely affect job performance, health, and personal well-being to return them to full productivity, thereby optimizing the company’s success.

Medicare is a federal government program that attempts to medically cover individuals 65 years and older and those with permanent disabilities, the most difficult population to serve. For fifty years, Medicare has provided economic and health security for older Americans, providing access to essential medical benefits including acute, chronic, and preventive health services. While the implementation of the Affordable Care Act improved Medicare by providing additional preventive services and brand name prescription drugs for less, there are still many flaws in Medicare, such having gaps in coverage, lack of supplemental costs, structural complexity, and large out of pocket expense that prevent the program from effectively offering health coverage to many individuals. As the Baby Boom Generation ages and the longevity of the population increases, Medicare costs will rise and constitute more and more of the federal budget, crowding out other important sectors.

In theory these alternative models lower costs and improve access to care, However, investigation of private health-care performance in Canada and the U.S., indicates that these alternative models are not

Seniors who fall under a coverage hole will start getting some help. Some are saying that seniors may lose Medicare benefits they now enjoy, but that is not true. The health reform act will not cut guaranteed benefits; a person will still be able to maintain the coverage they want. Americans on Medicare will receive free preventive care without co- payments or deductibles. Seniors will also receive $250 to help pay for their prescriptions. There will also be alternatives to nursing home placement, such as day-service programs, home-care aides, meal programs, senior centers and transportation services. A public, voluntary long-term care insurance program known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports, have enrolled individuals who have substantial daily needs to receive at least $50 a day. This money is to be used to defray the costs of services such as home care, family caregiver support, and adult day-care or residential care.

The United States’ Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as “Obamacare,” has allowed millions of Americans access to health insurance, that were once unable. The Affordable Care Act has helped those who were unable to obtain health insurance due to pre-existing conditions, and those unable to afford the high costs of premiums and out of pocket expenses. While it has allowed millions to obtain health coverage, the ACA has its flaws. These flaws could be greatly improved by implementing ideas and strengths from universal healthcare plans from other countries around the world. I have chosen three countries who rank higher than the U.S. when it comes to their Health Care Systems- Germany, Norway, and Japan.

system in America. (RAND, 2009). Some of the primary provisions pertain to augmenting health care

Health plans cover care for members who have different levels of expected cost and utilization due to differences in demographics and diseases.

The higher cost of affordable Health care is also eroding the ease with which to afford other insurance that covers about 30 percent of Medicare enrollees ‘expenses. In 2005, about 89 percent of beneficiaries obtained such additional coverage, including through former employers (33 percent), medical policies (25 percent), Medicare advantage plans (13 percent), Medicaid (16 percent), or other programs (1 percent) (MedPAC). These supplemental insurance programs were all very helpful at the onset, but with the passage of time and as health care costs continued to rise, employers are finding it difficult to support these programs and as a consequence, a greater number of these employers are either reducing the benefit or eliminating these benefits especially those that affects their retirees thereby increasing the cost of these supplemental insurances.

Although research generally confirms that pay-for-performance plans can influence greater outcomes, it is unclear how effective different pay plans are relative to each other (Park, 2012). Like most things in business, compensation is something that requires evaluation, study, assessment, strategy, modeling and integration.  Achieving a pay for performance culture does not happen without paying attention to the behaviors, activities, rewards and motivations that have to be linked and reinforced through a well engineered and successfully executed process.  Actually if that process does not tie rewards to shareholder financial objectives, employ the proper mix of compensation elements, result in meaningful dollars, embrace performance that employees can impact and are effectively communicated and reinforced, then the results it produces will likely fall short (Vision Link Advisory Group, 2013).

After four decades of failure to enact a universal healthcare program, advocates decided to refine their approach in the 1950s, and the strategy that ultimately led to the passage of Medicare and Medicaid was formulated. Wilbur Cohen and I.S. Falk recognized that a health insurance plan focused on Social Security beneficiaries would be much easier to sell than a plan for all Americans. By limiting its benefits to the elderly, Medicare could be portrayed as a program for people who met two important criteria: they had greater need for healthcare coverage and they were especially deserving of public assistance. Because of their age, seniors have relatively high medical costs--when Medicare was passed, average healthcare expenses for people sixty-five or older were twice the average expenses for younger persons. (Orentlicher, D. (2012).