Critical Issues Paper: Health and Wellness

Canada’s healthcare system is more accessible than the U.S, because Canada’s healthcare system covers all Canadian citizens as opposed to the U.S. healthcare system which depends on a person’s insurance. The U.S healthcare system is an insurance based system. In 2012, the U.S spent 2.8 trillion on healthcare (). Despite such spending on health care, many U.S. residents had no health insurance and several aggregate measures of health quality and outcomes recorded in the USA were poorer than the corresponding data from other high-income countries. In the U.S. if a citizen does not have insurance they will have to pay out of pocket for normal health care services. These out of pocket costs are usually extremely high. To put it in perspective, 18% of U.S citizens do not have health insurance (Costello,

Costs have escalated for a host of reasons. Americans’ health needs increased as their for example. Coverage grew to include catastrophic illnesses, not just common ailments. Ma added retiree health benefits. Medical techniques and technology became more sophisticate prescription drugs acquired an expanding role in disease management and illness preventio medical inflation had become a serious business issue; by some yardsticks, costs rose at a f decade than in the 1990s.

Employers are continuing to face rising health benefit costs and are constantly looking for alternatives to control these escalating costs. Health benefit premiums continue to increase at a double digit pace for employers and employees (Poor, Ross & Tollen, 2004). This escalation is putting environmental pressures on all impacted stakeholders. Companies and insurance providers are squeezing this industry to get a handle on cost while still providing an appropriate level of care. This cycle puts the patient front and center as the ultimate stakeholder who incurs changes in health benefits. This mandate of cost control, efficient operations and market share has facilitated a constant analysis of the dynamic health

The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world. It dates all the way back to World War II. The United States and Canada do not even compare to each other, in health care, like they once did. The problem lies within the major stakeholders of the health care system, and what they are willing to change to make it less expensive for patients. This paper will discuss the history, compare and contrast United States health care system to Canada, how the stake holders’ role affect these rising costs and it will discuss recommendations suggested by the authors of “Redefining Health Care.”

It is no secret that the cost of American healthcare is on the rise. Already the nation is spending about $1.65 trillion a year on healthcare. That represents 15 percent of gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services. It consumes one-fourth of the federal budget, more than defense. (Allan Rubin) This is due to the factors of expensive technology, less stringent HMO cost management, and more specifically to this paper, rapidly rising drug costs. Surveying nearly 3,000 employers, Mercer Human Resource Consulting finds that their health-benefit costs rose 10.1 percent this year, while inflation hovered around 2 percent.

expressing my feelings, communicating with people, and by being involved in the community. I do a lot of volunteer work at animal shelters, which I do to give back and show concern for the community. There are many qualities that come with social wellness which include the ability to communicate with others and by forming positive relationships, which are both beneficial to you.

This paper will examine the work systems and organizational structure of the Healthcare Employees Benefits (HEB) Manitoba. I will explain the current system in place and present how changes in work and technology may affect potential future changes to the work systems. As well, the potential benefits and obstacles to these changes will be explored.

1. What wellness indicators do you balance very well? Why do you balance these areas of your life well.

Each individual in the United States was estimated to have a healthcare expenditure of $8,086 that totaled up to $2.5 trillion overall in the year 2009 (Stone). With the changes that the ACA brings to the healthcare sector, the overall costs are projected to be $4.5 trillion by the year 2019 (Stone). The 195% increase in healthcare expense is due to the impact of the ACA and also the rise in costs for medical expertise (Kocakulah). The increasing healthcare costs continue to worry American citizens despite having the among the best facilities in the world.

Healthcare is under scrutiny to find cost reductions or cost containment. Available healthcare dollars are diminishing with an increased aging population and costs continually on the rise there is a need for healthcare institutions to become more accountable in how the dollars are spent. Canadian healthcare is 11.2% of gross domestic product in 2013 (Information, 2013)Pressure exists to maintain current service levels with decreasing budget dollars year after year. Healthcare institutions (administration and sometimes physicians) spend a substantial amount of time and energy yearly cutting dollars from existing budgets in order to provide a balanced budget. Savings come in the form of salaries (jobs), supply savings, and

Wellness programs can cover a widespread variety of health linked issues. Establishments profit from having fit organizations. My employers have benefited from having their employees address and continue personal wellness. Although my company does not have monetary incentives, our results are the rewards. My coworkers and I have shown reduction in weight and better physical fitness and resilience through our organization fit program. My results have shown increase in self-image,

Facilitating a Health and Wellness Program in the workplace is the greatest assessment an employer can make because it would be an investment in their most valuable asset, the employees. With there being more urgency today than ever before, America is under pressure to be productive even as healthcare costs proceed to rise and bombard the most important resource, the employees. Research and data show:

After all, healthy employees are generally more productive and happier. Now you're trying to figure out just how to offer the wellness program. You need to create a great package with benefits your employees truly want and need.

Workplace Wellness Programs (WWP) are those programs set-up by employers to help their employees improve their health and wellbeing. These programs encourage individual behavior change, in addition to helping reduce stressors in the workplace that can have negative effects on health behaviors (Andersen et al., 2015). Key features of wellness programs are health-risk assessments and screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol; behavior modification programs, such as tobacco cessation, weight management, and exercise; health education, including classes or referrals to online sites for health advice; and changes in the work environment or provision of special benefits to encourage

Wellness programs can be provided by employers as a service under discretionary benefits. Employers began implementing wellness programs to promote and maintain employees’ physical and psychological health in the 1980s (Martocchio, 2014). There are several different wellness programs that companies may provide to their employees such as stress reduction, nutrition and weight loss, exercise and fitness activities, and health-screening programs (Martocchio, 2014). According to the survey conducted by the Rand Corporation on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, currently 80 percent of employers offer nutrition and weight activities, 72 percent offer exercise and fitness programs, 77