Ethical Issues in the Insurance Industry

One of the main ethical issues that faces health care is the security of patient information. This information is protected by laws and regulations such as HIPPA, but there are still concerns Scott, et al, 2005). Among those concerns is the new concept of electronic patient records and information. These records are designed to help hospitals and doctors get patient information more quickly, so that patients can receive treatment as soon as possible. Unfortunately, anything kept and transmitted on a computer has the potential to be hacked, so that is a serious concern for patients. Not all patients want their medical records to be available electronically, but they may not have too many options (Romano & Stafford, 2010). Opting out may not be an option for them, and if they do have that option it could reduce the speed and quality of treatment that these patients would receive. Do they want to risk that, just so they can feel as though their medical information is better protected?

The survey was performed in 2010 involving members of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association (ECOA). They focused on the evolution of business ethics by analyzing six other studies over a span of two-and-a-half decades. Members of the survey were ethics manager, but members on the previous studies were regular employees and management. The results of the analysis of the previous studies showed that ethics programs in companies during a time span of the 1980’s through the 1990’s was used to show social responsibilities and not necessarily to enforce it throughout the company. It showed that ethics programs now that companies follow ethical laws and they are motivated to be ethical. Another result of the study showed that ethics training at companies has increased since the 1990’s due to the passing of Sarbanes-Oxley and other laws directed at ethics. The passing of the laws in the early 2000’s has led to ethics being a major component of everyday

Every business develops a set of ethical principles that they abide by. The business ethical principles intentions: it construct the business certainty in the community , maintain the employees liveried in what the business attempt to have as structural conducts and aid the employees consume principles to make ethical choices that guards the business. In a culture with a diverse assessment structure and augmented judgment visibly by companies with changeable ethics and interests, there appears to be further difficulties on business individuals to make tougher ethical assessments. In our day-to-day performances, we depend on on our ethical principles to monitor us in the correct path and do the correct things. The substance of any efficacious and perpetual business is they segment a mutual ethical matter concentrating on presenting and generating value along with allocating their business values with the citizens they network with on a day-to-day basis.

Under this task I will explain the ethical issues that business needs to consider in its operating activities and how a business they could improve the ethical of their operations and also I will evaluate the influence of stakeholders exert in one company.

Managed Care is a system of health care in which patients agree to visit only certain doctor and hospitals, and in which the cost of treatment is monitored by a managing company. David, a clinical supervisor of one pad was responsible for the clinical supervision of eight clinical case managers. On typically day, he receives around 40 phone messages about clients that are in need of his services. His job is to field calls from mental health providers seeking authorization to provide treatment for clients. There are those who believe that managed care is simply another example of corporate America discovering a means to increase profits for shareholders of insurance companies, at the expense of individuals seeking mental health treatment. (pg.

Many mental health counselors work with managed care organizations (MCOs) to provide services to clients. While managed care guidelines determine how counselors deliver services and what they will be reimbursed for, many counselors are upset with how limiting the guidelines are. It is a challenge for counselors when insurance reimbursement is denied because the MCOs are not honoring DSM codes (Braun & Cox, 2005). Therefore, counselors tend to submit inaccurate diagnoses that are reimbursable for their clients can receive services and they can be paid. However, this can lead to ethical and legal dilemmas for counselors. Braun and Cox (2005) address this issue in their article “Managed Mental Health Care: Intentional Misdiagnosis of Mental Disorders.”

The training will includes healthcare codes of ethics for managed care and five ways to improve ethics in the managed care organization.

Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage.

In addition, the article highlighted the issue of litigation and policy context under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA’s) preemption provision. It stated that “when a law or legal action involves the administration of plan benefits, such as a state law mandating certain benefits or a patient’s challenge to the denial of a plan benefit, ERISA preemption is triggered” (Jacobson, 1999). Therefore, the states block the litigation against the managed care organizations. Lastly, the courts and public policy have been a challenge of the implementation of cost containment initiatives. Some prominent commentators have been arguing for years that health care delivery should be guided by market principles as determined through contractual

Ethics is important to everyone for the society as a whole. Whether it is in a person’s professional career or personal life, ethics and morals play an important role. The key to an organization’s success is the way they handle business ethically. Although it is not always simple to do the right thing, it is something that must be done. Conducting an Ethics Awareness Inventory is a way someone can learn how they as individuals see ethics; what is important to them the most, and what is important to them the least. I completed this inventory, and will discuss how it relates to my

The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.

In closing, financial ethics are one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of healthcare as a whole. Without healthcare executives showing high morals and strong ethics, when important financial decisions are being made the public could risk being cheated and unfairly charged for different medical reasons. Also, it is extremely important for financial ethics to be upheld high when coming up with health insurance policies. The downfall of the economy, lack of employment plus major layoffs, need to be taken into strong consideration when coming up with not just a healthcare policy, but an efficient, attainable, affordable healthcare policy.

When it comes to selling, many issues arise in regards to business ethics and the proper conduct a salesperson should be morally obliged to take upon themselves. This paper will discuss an interaction between an insurance sales agent from Prudential, Ed Mokarem, and a tenured professor, Thomas Parson, who received a one-year research fellowship outside his home university. The fellowship covered all cost except for the health insurance policy the professor was receiving from the university and therefore, he would have to pay out of pocket to keep the expensive policy going for the year away. Thinking he might get a better deal, he went to Ed the agent. The policy of the coverage that Ed offered would come to about half the cost. Ed,

In today's business and personal world, ethical decisions are made on a daily basis. Most of these decisions are based on company ground rules. The others are based on personal ground rules. All decisions can have a number of ground rules that help us determine whether our decision is ethical or unethical. Each decision whether it is based on company or personal ground rules will have its own set of implications. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the impacts of ethics on decision-making, discuss the elements of an ethically defensible decision, define what the ground rules are; what they could be and what they should be, discuss

Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.