Cutting costs.Five tips when shopping around to decrease health insurance premiums: 1. Add an HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, to a PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there plan as a core plan. Then the employees should be allowed to buy up to the PPO. Adding vision and/or dental coverage can be done as a trade-off in order to increase the deductible on the health plan. 2. Change your plan from a traditional or major medical plan to a managed care plan. Doing so can potentially save hundreds of dollars in premium costs. Additionally, in the wake of congressional law passed this year, medical reimbursement plans now allow employers to roll over funds in those plans whereas before they had to use it or lose it. This can be a good tool in making higher deductibles more attractive to employees, which will in turn save the employer in premium costs. 3. Look at medical reimbursement and medical savings plans. Look also for customized discount plans (such as those offered by insurance companies and some local and county governments) that offer the option of self-insurance for prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, coverage. Look for an insurance agent who can deliver services, such as plan changes, enrollment issues, claims issues, etc. 4. Put in place incentives for the use of generic drugs. A recent industry published report pointed out that generic drug use among Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. members has increased 1.2 percent since the fall of 2001. The increase is notably significant because of the previous four years, generic use had steadily declined. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Blues, this increase means a yearly savings of rare than $17 million for its members. 5. Have a high deductible PPO as the core plan, and then allow employees to buy up to other more comprehensive levels as the need is presented. Then they become more in control of managing the spending of dollars for health care. A three-step ergonomics ergonomics, the engineering science concerned with the physical and psychological relationship between machines and the people who use them. The ergonomicist takes an empirical approach to the study of human-machine interactions. guide Review the 'ergo-quality' of your office with these simple steps; then consider adding the needed accessories to make your employees' work environment discomfort-free. 1. Workstation set-up--To achieve good posture at your workstation or desk, you may need to adjust the height of your chair or use a footrest. Installing a standard keyboard manager will bring your keyboard and mouse to an ergonomically correct position if you are seated at your desk, while a sit-stand keyboard manager will allow you to type and enter data from a sitting or standing position. Add a gel-filled wrist rest A platform used to raise the wrist above keyboard level for typing. The correct height for a wrist rest is several inches higher than the keyboard (even though almost none of them are). The arms and wrist should be level, and the fingers should be pointing down towards the keyboard. at the base of the keyboard for firm, soothing support and redistribution of pressure points. 2. Equipment positioning--When sitting at your computer, place the entire viewing area of the monitor between 15 and 50 degrees below horizontal eye level, with the monitor top tilted slightly up and away. The optimum eye-to-screen distance is at least 25 inches. To achieve optimum positioning, consider using monitor risers. Take a look at the other equipment you use daily--are you stretching and straining to reach the phone? Are you craning your neck to hold the phone in place between chin and shoulder? If that sounds like your regular routine, give your communication set-up a one-two upgrade by adding a phone stand and a phone headset. 3. Lighting--Too much lighting and you have glare on your monitor; too little and you may be dealing with eyestrain eyestrain /eye·strain/ (-stran) fatigue of the eye from overuse or from uncorrected defect in focus of the eye. eye·strain n. . Eliminate glare with adjustable window shades or diffusers on overhead lights. Add an anti-glare filter A treated glass panel that is placed over a monitor screen to reduce glare. See anti-glare screen. to your computer to reduce the glare from surrounding lights and enhance the image contrast. Source: Office Depot Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) is one of the world's leading suppliers of office products and services. The Company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, , Business Services Division Health care Resources The Michigan Chapter of HIMSS HIMSS Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (MI-HIMSS) is an association of individuals who are organized to improve information systems management in health-care institutions and related health-care organizations, www.mi-himss.org The Great Lakes Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combined surface area of c.95,000 sq mi (246,050 sq km). Division of the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, offers a free worksite wellness program called ACS (Asynchronous Communications Server) See network access server. at Work to businesses throughout Southeast Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called Southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries, and is home to slightly over half the state's population. . Participating businesses choose from a menu of fun and educational programs, which offer physical activity, messages of nutrition, cancer information, smoking cessation smoking cessation Public health Temporary or permanent halting of habitual cigarette smoking; withdrawal therapies–eg, hypnosis, psychotherapy, group counseling, exposing smokers to Pts with terminal lung CA and nicotine chewing gum are often ineffective. and opportunities for community outreach. For more information, contact a local American Cancer Society representative at (248) 557-5353. Health care weblinks These Websites offer a wide variety of information related to health care: www.americanheart.org--American Heart Association www.bcbsm.com--Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan www.personalpath.com--A useful personal health-care guide for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan/Blue Care Network members www.cancer.org-American Cancer Society www.dmc.org--Detroit Medical Center www.hapcorp.org--Health Alliance Plan www.michigan.gov/mdch--Michigan Department of Community Health www.health.gov/nhic--National Health Information Center www.henryford.com--Henry Ford Health System www.oakwood.com--Oakwood Healthcare Inc. www.stjohn.org--St. John Health System The Chamber's role By Sebastian Wade Many, employers are desperately trying to maintain health-care coverage for their employees amid a deepening crisis, which will likely mean another 1% to 22-percent increase in health insurance premiums. The Detroit Regional Chamber, through its Health Care Stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. Initiative, is actively working on several key issues of importance to employers. The issue of prescription drugs, ill particular, is receiving considerable attention. To address this issue, the Chamber is teaming with Michigan for Affordable Pharmaceuticals (MAP), a voluntary organization comprised of employers, unions, health-care providers and healthcare plans supporting specific reform initiatives designed to contain pharmaceutical costs while ensuring access and quality. The Chamber and MAP are targeting two critical components of this issue: * Generic drugs--The Chamber partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in a campaign to promote the use of less expensive generic equivalents when possible (see page 62 for more details on this campaign). * Direct-to-consumer advertising--As the volume of advertising continues to increase at unprecedented rates, MAP believes such promotions raise consumer safety issues, including inappropriate demand for advertised drugs. Sebastian Wade is director of public policy at the Detroit Regional Chamber. For more information on how you can get involved in the Chamber's health-care initiatives, call (313) 596-0399 or e-mail: swade@detroitchamber.com. Many of the ergonomics products cited in this article are manufactured by Fellowes Inc. and are available through Office Depot, Business Services Division, as part of a special program sponsored by the Detroit Regional Chamber. For more information on these products, contact Bob Bowers at (313) 596-0369 or e-mail: rbowers@detroitchamber.com For additional ergonomic tips, visit www.fellowes.com. For easy access to all Websites listed in this section, visit the Detroiter online at www.detroitchamber.com. Click "Detroiter" on our home page and go to: Health Care Web Links. James K. Ralph Jr. is president of James Ralph James Trevor Ralph (born 9 October, 1975) is an English cricketer who played one first-class match for Worcestershire and later played minor counties cricket for Shropshire. He was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. & Associates Inc., a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber. |
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