Healthcare Reform in Vermont

Healthcare Reform in Vermont Vermont is one of the states of the United States and it is found in the region of New England. New England is on the Northeastern side on the United States. Vermont is the 2nd least populous state in the US, and the 6th least extensive. This is the only state in the New England region that does not have a border with the Atlantic Ocean. However, half of its Western border is found within Lake Champlain, and it shares this border with New York. On the south of Vermont lies Massachusetts, while on the east, there is the state of New Hampshire. On the north of Vermont lies the Canadian province of Quebec, while on its east, there is the state of New York. As of July 2013, the census Bureau of the US gives an estimation that the total population of this state of Vermont stood at 626, 630 people (Abrahamsen, 2012). This represented an increase of 0.14%, when compared to the census of 2010. The state of Vermont has an increase in the aging population, and on this basis, there is an increase in the provision of aging health care services within the economy of the state (Abrahamsen, 2012). The Allen Fletcher Health is considered as the biggest private health provider in the state of Vermont, with an employee base of around 7,100 people. As of the year 2010, the entire bill that patients in the hospital paid amounted to 3.76 billion dollars. Currently, 92,000 people have enrolled for the Medicare program. It is important to denote that as of 2011, Medicare was able to spend 740 million dollars on the health care of the state (Deary and sBrown, 2001). The financial capacity of the state is very stable, and it has been able to achieve a balanced budget, since the year 1991 (Deary and sBrown, 2001). The state has an enterprise fund, for purposes of sponsoring activities that would reduce social and economic problems like unemployment, drug abuse, etc. For purposes of understanding the economic strength of Vermont, the state has an individual’s per capita income of 38,306 dollars. On the other hand, the general size of the public sector is 24.3%, when compared to that of the private sector which amounts to 36.6% (Abrahamsen, 2012). Based on these grounds, the private sector is wider than the public sector. The tax system of this state is also favorable, and one of the unleast fair tax structure in the United States. This is because the tax structure gives income tax credit to low waged workers. This is for purposes of ensuring that there is an equitable distribution of resources. Prior Health Reform Policy: One of the health care reforms initiated by the state of Vermont is the Dynasaur programs. This is a program that is funded by the government of Vermont, and was formed in 1989. This program was aimed at providing universal cover to the children of Vermont, and when this was added up by the private insurance individuals that Vermont had, the state was able to ensure universal health coverage of all its children (Deary and Brown, 2001). Because of this policy, the state of Vermont was able to be regarded as having the best health care policies in the US. When this program began in 1989, the objective of the government was to provide health care services to children who were under the ages of six years, and to pregnant women who were unable to afford private health insurance programs. In 1992, the government of Vermont was able to increase the health care coverage of the Dr. Dynasur program. This was to cover children and teenagers who were under the ages of 17 years; this is up from t he previous six years covered by the 1989 Dr. Dynasur plan (Deary and Brown, 2001). The main aim of this policy was to ensure that children and pregnant women are able to access preventive care, and pre-natal health care services. Another important goal of this policy was to ensure that the state government is able to assist families in achieving self-sufficiency, by helping them carter for their medical needs (Abrahamsen, 2012). This was in line with the state’s welfare system that was assisting families that did not receive the welfare money. As discussed earlier, this policy was very efficient, and it resulted in the ranking of Vermont as a state with the best health care policy in the United States. In 2006, the government of Vermont introduced the Catamount Health care policy (Almgren and Lindhorst, 2012). This health care policy targeted people who were not insured by the Medicaid and Medicare policies. The main aim of this policy was to reduce the medical costs suffered by chronic patients. In 2011, the state government of Vermont introduced a new heal th care policy. This health care policy was to create a single health care payer system, under the Green Mountain Care program. The law that enabled the introduction of this policy is the H. 202 law. Under this policy, all citizens of Vermont are required to get a universal health care cover. This policy also helped to improve the technologies used to provide health care services to the citizens of Vermont (Almgren and Lindhorst, 2012). This policy is enacted to replace the system whereby only a segment of the society is able to access insurance health care policies. That is the pregnant women and children covered under Dr. Dynasur insurance plan, and chronic patients who were not covered by Medicaid and Medicare, under the Catamount policy. This policy hasn’t yet achieved efficiency due to a number of problems in its implementation. This is partly due to the passage of the affordable care act, and uncertainties on the methods of financing the program (Deary and Brown, 2001). Outcomes of past reforms: As of the year 2005, the Vermont Public Assets institute and the children’s forum released a report indicating that the minimum wage of Vermont’s public sector was unable to keep up with an increase in the cost of the basic needs of the people of Vermont (Almgren and Lindhorst, 2012). According to this report, the biggest factor that led to an increase in costs of living was the health insurance. This insurance cost doubled for the last five years, and this represented 25% of the house hold expenses (Maclean, 2007). This was during the period of 2003. It is important to denote that during this period, Vermont was implementing the Dr Dynasur insurance policy, which was very effective in catering for the needs of people eligible for the policy. It is very important to understand that the Dr. Dynasur policy was a very effective policy in reducing the health care costs of pregnant women, and children under the ages of 18 years old. For instance, since the introduction of the Dr. Dynasur policy, the Government was able to enroll 90,000 children who were under the federal poverty level (Maxwell, 2012). It is important to understand that the childhood population of Vermont at that time was 150,000 children. 90,000 represent more than half of the total population of Children in Vermont. Based on this ground, this program was able to achieve equity in terms of health insurance coverage (Deary and Brown, 2001). This is because the remaining 60,000 children could afford private insurance cover. However, this policy failed to reduce the insurance costs of all citizens of Vermont (Abrahamsen, 2012). This is because it was discriminatory in nature, because it did not cover the entire population of Vermont; hence an increase to health insurance costs. This is because the people left out in this policy resorted to acquiring private health insurance policies (Maxwell, 2012). On this basis, the Catamount health care policy was introduced in 2006 for purposes of catering for the needs of those people not covered by the Medicaid and Medicare insurance policies (Maclean, 2007). This policy was very effective in reducing the medical costs of people living with chronic diseases. This is because the government of Vermont catered for their needs, through this health care policy (Abrahamsen, 2012). On this basis, the Catamount Health Care policy was able to reduce the health care insurance costs for the citizens of Vermont. By reducing the health care costs of citizens of Vermont, the Catamount Health Care plan was able to fulfill the social welfare policy of Vermont, which is to make it possible for equitable distribution of health care programs (Maxwell, 2012). However, as of 2011, the government of Vermont decided to improve on its health care insurance programs, and hence the creation of the Mountain Care Program. This program is still under the implementation stage, to judge its outcome (Abrahamsen, 2012). This is because of the uncertainties over the funding of the program, and how to integrate the whole program, under the affordable care act. However, the intention of this program is to eliminate medical costs of all citizens of Vermont, irrespective of their social class. This is because it will make it possible for the entire citizens to enroll for an insurance program controlled and funded by the state (Maclean, 2007). Current Steps under ACA: In satisfying the provisions of the Affordable care act, Vermont has initiated a number of policies. One such policy is the introduction of the health insurance exchange. This is the market place for health insurance. Under this health insurance policy, an individual who purchases the policy before the 15th of January, then the person under consideration must enroll for the health care coverage that begins on the 1st of January, if the person purchases the policy on the 15th of February, and then the coverage of the person under consideration begins on the 1st of May (Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). What this refers is that the coverage normally begins 15 days, after the day of purchase. This policy further goes on to exempt people who have enrolled for the health care coverage before the 1st of May, from paying enrollment fees. By 31st of March 2014, the enrollment of people for this program came to an end, and those not enrolled would be barred from accessing the benefits of health insurance up to November 2014, when the next enrollment begins (Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). In bringing these services closer to people, the state has established a website referred to as the Vermont Health Connect. This website enables citizens of Vermont to make applications of the insurance policies, compare the prices and plans of various health care policies, etc. It is important to denote that the government of Vermont has shifted the responsibility of managing health insurance to Green Mountain Care Board, established by the 2011, H202 law. Previously, the responsibility of managing insurance health care was undertaken by the Banking, Securities, and Insurance Health Care Administration (Deary and Brown, 2001). The state has also initiated a number of policies in regard to Medicaid under the ACA. For instance in Vermont, any individual making below 139% Federal Poverty Level is eligible for Medicaid. This is under the expansion plan of Vermont in regard to implementing the provisions of the Obama care. It is important to denote that applications are only acceptable through the Health Insurance Exchange that is operated and managed by the Green Mountain Care organization. Under the Medicaid expansion program, there are a number of plans available, and these plans include the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans (Maxwell, 2012). The Bronze plan is a low cost plan Medicaid program offered by the government of Vermont. It has a very low actuarial value, and very low premiums. The actuarial value of this plan rests at 60%, and this means that 60% of all medical costs are catered for by insurance companies. The Silver plan on the other hand comes next, in terms of the costs that an insurer has to pay (Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). The silver plan gives an actuarial value of 70%. This is an indication that 70% of medical costs are catered for by insurance organizations, while 30% is catered for by the individual concerned. This plan is recommended for people who are reasonably healthy, and occasionally use medical services Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). The Gold plan on the other hand comprises an actuarial value of 80%, and on this basis, 80% of medical costs will be paid by insurance organizations. The beneficiary will therefore pay the remaining 20%. Finally, members holding the platinum plan contribute the highest premium, and it covers 90% of all medical costs incurred by the beneficiary. This plan is suitable to people who are sickly, and of poor health. It is important to denote that health insurers in Vermont are not obligated to offer all these plans, but they are required to offer at minimum, one silver, and one gold plan. Anticipated Effects: There are a number of anticipated outcomes for the enactment of the project under consideration. For example, in Vermont, the policies enacted will lead into an increase in the number of the insured people in the state. This is because the policies of Dr. Dynasur and Catamount policy did not adequately cover all the people in the State. For instance, statistics indicate that Vermont has a total number of 47,000 people who do not have any medical cover. This policy will ensure that these people are eligible for the cover, and hence reducing their medical costs. It is important to denote that this policy will have a lot of outcomes when it comes to Medicaid. For instance, initially, Medicaid had a variety of gaps, in the number of people eligible for enrollment (Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). This is because eligibility was only restricted to people with disability, low income individuals, children, and the elderly. However, with the expansion of Medicaid to involve other people, Vermont hopes that the policy will lead to an improvement in the medical conditions of its people. This is because there will be an increase in the number of people enrolled into the program. These are people, who were previously not eligible to access the services of Medicaid. Furthermore, with the implementation of this program, chances are high that the living conditions of people will improve (Burkhauser and Lyons, 2011). This is because they will have the capability to save their incomes, and use it for other purposes, other than worrying on how they will pay for their health needs. Chances are also high that there will be a series of innovations, aimed at effectively implementing these policies. Take for instance in Vermont, the state managed to create a website whereby people can apply for the services of Medicaid (Alker, Brooks and Harbelein, 2014). This website is interactive in nature, and it is referred to as Vermont Health Connect. On this basis, it is important to understand that a series of such kind of innovations will occur. This in turn will improve the efficiency of service delivery. Barriers to Reform and Changes: The Health insurance exchanges serve as the main health insurance market places. At a start, these insurance health exchanges will provide insurance cover to people, and business organizations that have an employee base of around 100 people. Federal subsidies will play a great role in minimizing the insurance premiums charged to the middle and lower income people, and insurers will have to meet a variety of conditions set forth by the Federal government (Holtz, 2008). However, there are a number of challenges that the implementation process of these policies will face. One challenge is governing the health insurance exchanges. It might be difficult to govern these health insurance exchanges, and this is because they are new concepts that emerged. However, in managing these health insurance exchanges, there is a need of the state establishing an independent body that is exempted from certain administrative laws, and governmental regulations. The people in charge of governing this agency should be government representatives and representatives of insurance stakeholders, and the consumers in general. Another challenge that comes into place is the issue of high risk customers. These are customers whose health is very bad, and hence insurance providers will always be unwilling to give them insurance cover. The state will have to develop a policy such as subsidizing the premiums paid by these customers, for purposes of helping them access insurance cover. Politics is another serious challenge to the implementation of these policies, and this is because of the differences between the Republicans and democrats on the enactment of the ACA. To address this problem, there is a need of constant communication by the governor of Vermont, highlighting the importance of these policies to its people. References: Abrahamsen, E. (2012). Health insurance issues, challenges and perspectives. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers. Alker, J., Brooks, T., Harbelein, M. (2014). The new state-level health insurance exchanges  that are to be established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) New York: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured . Almgren, G. R., Lindhorst, T. (2012). The safety-net health care system health care at the  margins. New York, NY: Springer Pub.. Burkhauser, R. V., Lyons, S. (2011). The importance of the meaning and measurement of  affordable in the Affordable Care Act. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Deary, T., Brown, M. (2001). The USA. London: Scholastic. Holtz, C. (2008). Global health care: issues and policies. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Maclean, N. (2007). Distributing health care principles, practices, and policies. Exeter: Imprint Academic. Maxwell, N. L. (2012). The health and wealth of a nation: employer-based health insurance and  the affordable care act. Kalamazoo, Mich.: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

How Can Literature Save a Nation Essay

To fully understand this question, we need to define first two things. One is, of course, what literature is; second, what it is that endangers a nation that can be negated by literature. Literature, per definition, is the art of written works. In Latin, it literally means â€Å"to be acquainted with letters†. So, in that context, every book, every journal, every thing written, loosely defined, is literature. Now, what can books, journals and papers possibly do to save a nation from, say, war? Or economic crisis? Or anything that can harm what we define as â€Å" community sharing a common language, a common culture†; simply, a nation? Take for example something written by a middle-aged American way back in the 1850’s. And she was a woman, nonetheless, by the name of Harriett Beecher-Stowe. It revolves around an African-American man who, today, would be a houseboy or a worker. Those times, he was called a negro slave. The book is, of course, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, with the story touching sensitive topics of slavery, racism, and religious faith. This simple book by a simple schoolteacher awakened the minds of the American people into realizing that, to quote Shakespeare’s â€Å"Merchant of Venice†, â€Å"If you prick me, do I not bleed? If you tickle me, do I not laugh? † This aroused a sense of disgust that what White Americans were doing to another actual human being, albeit of a different color, yet still another living person, what they themselves would not want to be put up with. In short, this book helped shape America’s future as a slave-free country by igniting the first sparks of the American Civil War. Coincidentally, some decades later, it was to be the same book that would ignite another revolutionary spark somewhere in the Pacific; in the Southeast Asian region to be exact. While in Madrid, our very own Dr. Jose P. Rizal was moved by Uncle Tom’s Cabin that he proposed writing a novel that would do the same for the Philippines (at that time under Spanish oppression) what that book did for America. The result was â€Å"Noli Me Tangere† (Touch Me Not). Now, to illustrate how those works saved a nation concretely would be illogical. For it is not paper and pencil that saves a nation, it is us, its people. We are the nations conscience and we act on our own consciences. Literature, whether it be the Bible, or Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or The Da Vinci Code, ignites in us thoughts and emotions.. Of course it cannot save us physically, but it is a catalyst. Literature is concentrated on saving the civilised human race. It keeps us who we are, points out what makes us different from animals: our thinking and our ability to not only change and adapt, but to change the situation we are in. It informs us, thus, giving us new points of view and a broader opinion on a subject leading to a better understanding of it. It generates ideas that move us into action, that influence us, that change us. This is what creates a force or a chain reaction of sudden awareness that causes the people of a nation to rise up and save that nation; either from slavery, from oppression, from economic downfall, or form anything a nation is to be saved from by its people.

How Stock Market Prices Are Determined

At a very basic level, economists know that stock prices are determined by the supply of and demand for them, and stock prices adjust to keep supply and demand in balance (or equilibrium).  At a deeper level, however, stock prices are set by a combination of factors that no analyst can consistently understand or predict.  A number of economic models assert that stock prices  reflect the long-term earning potential of companies (and, more specifically, the projected growth path of stock dividends). Investors are attracted to stocks of companies they expect will earn substantial profits in the future; because many people wish to buy stocks of such companies, prices of these stocks tend to rise. On the other hand, investors are reluctant to purchase stocks of companies that face bleak earnings prospects; because fewer people wish to buy and more wish to sell these stocks, prices fall. When deciding whether to purchase or sell stocks, investors consider the general business climate and outlook, the financial condition and prospects of the individual companies in which they are considering investing, and whether stock prices relative to earnings already are above or below traditional norms. Interest rate trends also influence stock prices significantly. Rising interest rates tend to depress stock prices — partly because they can foreshadow a general slowdown in economic activity and corporate profits, and partly because they lure investors out of the stock market and into new issues of interest-bearing investments (i.e. bonds of both the corporate and Treasury varieties). Falling rates, conversely, often lead to higher stock prices, both because they suggest easier borrowing and faster growth and because they make new interest-paying investments less attractive to investors. Other Factors That Determine Prices A number of other factors complicate matters, however. For one thing, investors generally buy stocks according to their expectations about the unpredictable future, not according to current earnings. Expectations can be influenced by a variety of factors, many of them not necessarily rational or justified. As a result, the short-term connection between prices and earnings can be tenuous. Momentum also can distort stock prices. Rising prices typically woo more buyers into the market, and the increased demand, in turn, drives prices higher still. Speculators often add to this upward pressure by purchasing shares in the expectation they will be able to sell them later to other buyers at even higher prices. Analysts describe a continuous rise in stock prices as a bull market. When speculative fever can no longer be sustained, prices start to fall. If enough investors become worried about falling prices, they may rush to sell their shares, adding to downward momentum. This is called a bear market. This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

How to Talk Sports in French

Are you that fan of European sports who gets up in the wee hours to watch games in France? If you just love sports in general or simply want to know more about talking sports in French, weve got you covered. We have the names of the sports, the verbs to use with each, and the terms for  players (usually with both masculine and feminine forms), equipment, and playing fields. Its a long, useful list, so buckle up. Note that we discuss exceptionally popular French sports like soccer, tennis, and cycling elsewhere on their own pages. Many of the words below are linked to audio files. Simply click on the link to hear the correct pronunciation and then repeat it a few times to commit it to memory. Names of Sports (Noms de sports) Note that, in many instances, the French and English words are nearly identical. archery le tir à   l'arc baseball le base-ball basketball (specific terms below) le basket biking or cycling le cyclisme boxing la boxe diving la plongà ©e fishing la pà ªche football le football amà ©ricain golf (specific terms below) le golf (ice) hockey (specific terms below) le hockey (sur glace) jogging le jogging sailing la voile skating le patinage rollerskating le patin à   roulettes or le skating skiing (specific terms below) le ski cross-country skiing le ski de randonnà ©e or le ski de fond downhill skiing le ski de descente or le ski de piste water skiing le ski nautique soccer le foot(ball) swimming la natation tennis le tennis volleyball le volley(ball) wrestling la lutte The French Verbs Used With Sports In French, playing or doing sports is normally expressed with  jouer au  or  faire. Sports That Use Jouer au 1. Jouer au  (to play): Just add the name of the sport after the verb, like this: to play golf   jouer au golfto play hockey   jouer au hockey to play... jouer au... baseball base-ball basketball basket soccer foot(ball) football football amà ©ricain golf golf hockey hockey tennis tennis volleyball volley(ball) Sports That Use Faire 2.  Faire  (to do):  The verb  is usually followed by de article noun, like this: to swim   faire de la natationto do archery    faire du tir  Ãƒ  Ã‚  larc ​There are exceptions where just the noun is used, without the partitive and article. For example: to hike faire  une randonnà ©e Some sports also have their own verb, which is a one-word verb form of the noun. Those are listed in the right-hand column below. For example: to wrestle   faire de la lutte  or  lutter Notice that le golf can use either jouer au or faire and is on both  lists. to do... faire... or this to box de la boxe boxer to ride a horse du cheval to bike du cyclisme or monter sur bicyclette rouler to golf du golf to jog du jogging to wrestle de la lutte lutter to swim de la natation nager to skate du patin(age) patiner to inline skate du patin à   roulettes or du skating to dive de la plongà ©e plonger to ski du ski skier to downhill ski du ski de descente or du ski de piste to cross country ski du ski de randonnà ©e or du ski de fond to water ski du ski nautique to shoot archery du tir à   l'arc to sail de la voile to hike une randonnà ©e Anomaly: la  Pà ªche Uses Aller But,  la  pà ªche uses neither of these verbs and goes on a separate list with aller, as in  aller à  Ã‚  la pà ªche (to go fishing), or its used with its own verb  pà ªcher (to fish). to go... aller... or this to go fishing à   la pà ªche pà ªcher Basketball (Le Basket) If you like basketball, youll enjoy learning essential basketball terms.  You can practice these words while playing or watching your teams. Learning a language is like sports: The more you practice, the better you get. Basketball  Team basketball team à ©quipe de basket basketball player basketteur (m) or basktteuse (f) guard arrià ¨re offensive player attaquant jumper sauteur Basketball Equipment   equipment matà ©riel basketball ballon de basket court terrain de jeu basket panier opponent's basket panier adverse rim, ring anneau backboard panneau Basketball Action to catch the ball attraper le ballon to block bloquer to dribble dribbler to steal the ball intercepter le ballon to handle the ball manier le ballon to guard a player marquer un joueur to pass passer Golf (Le Golf) You could practice this vocabulary the next time you hit the links. Golf Players golfer joueur de golf or golfeur (m)joeuse de golf or golfeuse (f) foursome quatuor The Golf Course golf course terrain / parcours de golf greens fee droit de jeu driving range terrain d'exercice fairway allà ©e grass bunker fosse d'herbe sand trap fosse de sable waste bunker fosse naturelle water hazard obstacle d'eau green vert hole trou Golf Equipment   equipment matà ©riel golf bag sac de golf caddie cadet(te) cart chariot, voiturette de golf golf ball balle de golf ball marker repà ¨re golf glove gant de golf set of clubs jeu de bà ¢tons de golf golf club club, crosse, canne (de golf) wood bois iron fer driver bois n ° 1 pitching wedge cocheur d'allà ©e sand wedge cocheur de sable putter fer droit Golf Action to golf faire du golf or jouer au golf tee tà © tee marker jalon de dà ©part handicap handicap golf stroke coup de golf swing à ©lan backswing montà ©e half swing demi-à ©lan chip approche roulà © pitch approche lobà © divot motte de gazon The Golf Score score card carte de pointage par normale birdie oiselet bogey boguey double bogey boguey double eagle aigle double eagle albatros hole in one trou d'un coup The Golf Ball ball trajectory trajectoire de balle hook crochet de gauche slice crochet de droite draw là ©ger crochet de gauche fade là ©ger crochet de droite Hockey (Le Hockey) Ice hockey, a popular sport in French-speaking Canada and elsewhere, has a special set of terms. Notice that when we speak of hockey players, French-speaking Canadians tend to use a different word than the French do. Both terms will be understood in both countries. Hockey Players hockey player hockeyeur/euse (France)joueur/euse de hockey (Canada) goalie gardien de but opponent adversaire The Hockey Rink   rink patinoire goal but or cage goal crease territoire de but Hockey Equipment equipment matà ©riel hockey stick crosse de hockey puck palet helmet casque protecteur face mask protecteur facial glove gant skate patin Hockey Action to play hockey jouer au hockey to check mettre en à ©chec to clear the puck dà ©gager le palet to score a goal marquer un but to shoot lancer or tirer Skiing (Le Ski) Skiing is another popular sport in many French-speaking countries. Types of Skiing and Skiers to ski faire du ski or skier cross-country skiing ski de fond downhill skiing ski de descente or ski aval cross-country skier skieur de fond or fondeur downhill skier descendeur forerunner ouvreur de piste freestyle libre classical classique jumping saut downhill descente giant slalom slalom gà ©ant slalom slalom super-G super gà ©ant Skiing Equipment equipment matà ©riel hat bonnet headband serre-tà ªte or bandeau goggles lunettes glove gant ski pole bà ¢ton de ski skis skis boot chaussure coverboot surchaussure binding fixation On the Hill ski course parcours de ski trail piste marked course piste balisà ©e hill tremplin or piste de saut start platform plate-forme de dà ©part length of the trail longueur de la piste flag fanion or drapeau jump tremplin mogul bosse finish time temps à   l'arrivà ©e control point poste de contrà ´le gate porte